A Fiend's Requiem
by Revenant47
Summary: Corrin has lived within the Northern Fortress for as long as he can remember. Now as Corrin is thrust into the outside world, he will discover forces beyond anything he could have imagined and a plan thousands of years in the making. A crossover between the world of Fire Emblem Fates and Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne.
1. Prologue: The End of an Era

What had once been left abandoned and destitute after the fall of the Assembly of Nihilo had become shrouded in a complete and total war. Three armies clashed at the base of the obelisk. One was the newly reformed Assembly, rejuvenated after a multitude of defeats. Though they had recently suffered a string of defeats, the appearance of their demonic sponsor, Ahriman, had been enough to reignite their fire. Immediately they had rushed to their former base where Ahriman and his closest allies had ascended to the tower of Kagutsuchi. Their goal was an audience with the creation deity the tower was named for. If they could meet this being they would have the power to recreate the world as they saw fit. They were not the only ones to seek an audience with this god though.

Another army, that of Yosuga, sought power and the subjugation of the weak. Their ranks swelled with lesser angels and deities. After a human woman named Chiaki Hayasaka had given up her humanity to achieve the power necessary to change the world they had flocked to her banner. Now known as the demonic sponsor, Baal Avatar, she had lead her army against the Assembly, and though they had been the first to reach the Obelisk, they had failed to repel the might of Yosuga. Forcing their way past the Assembly, their central strike force entered the tower, chasing after the Assembly's leader and top agents. The lingering forces of the Assembly rallied again but once more Yosuga beat them back. For a time Yosuga's leader appeared to be the favorite to win the prize of creation. At least until the third army had come.

This last force was a recently formed coalition of vastly different beings brought together under the banner of free will and defiance of both law and chaos alike. It was an alliance of seven different tribes of demons that had joined forces under both necessity and belief in one central figure. This figure was known as the Demifiend. Like Chiaki, he had once been an ordinary human, in fact they had once been close friends. He had been thrown into this apocalyptic hell scape when the world had ended. Unlike his former friend, he had not had a choice in his transformation. He had been corrupted. Defiled. The parasites that now swam through his body were a daily reminder of that. He had risen above that. He had looked true evil in the eye and chosen to believe in the future. Now that resolution had gathered an army of allies to him, an army that now attacked not out of greed, but out of desperation. For this army, this was not about recreating one world, one universe, in the infinite expanse of the Amala multiverse. No, this was merely the first part in a larger plot, one that if successful would not only prevent the destruction of that multiverse, but also grant the Demifiend his ultimate revenge.

When they had arrived, the leaders of the seven tribes had lead their forces into battle, taking the Assembly and Yosuga by surprise. Striking while they were confused the Demifiend lead his personal strike team past the brunt of their forces advancing into the tower after the insane patron of the Assembly and his former childhood friend.

Three armies of demons fought underneath the obelisk, seeking to buy time for their champions within.

After the third army had broken through the ranks of the other two, they had dug in and were attempting to defend the structure as much as possible. The tribal leaders knew they had won, when they felt the aura of the Demifiend flare with triumph, once, twice, three times as each of his rivals fell to his power. The other two armies desperately threw themselves at their foes. They had felt their champions die and now they fought desertion as much as they fought the Demifiend's army. As the fight amidst the ruins of humanity's hubris and death came to a close, the tribes knew better than to celebrate. Instead, they reinforced their position, all the while glancing up at the tower behind them intermittently. Far in the sky, the blazing star of Kagutsuchi had begun to glow with a new found harshness. On that tower that floated far above the obelisk, the final battle had already begun.

The young man look to his left, his friend barely able to stand. The battle was not going as planned.

Of course they had known this wouldn't be easy. Heck it was to be expected that a god responsible for remaking the world would more or less be a challenge. That being said, the Demifiend was still in awe of just how much power they were dealing with.

A warm green light surrounded the two of them and the boy could feel Pixie's healing magic beginning to take effect. In response to this the deity in front of them materialized a score of hard light spears, launching them at the party. As the spears were hurling towards them, the god sent dual bursts of fire and force at the spears, speeding them up and spinning them into blinding, luminescent buzz saws. The fourth member of the boy's party, a white angel intercepted the blasts, beams of crimson erupting from his eyes and disintegrating the attack before it could connect.

With his wounds healed, the young man's friend sprang back into action. A sword in his right hand and a gun in his left he began to launch an onslaught on the god. The Demifiend sprang forward as well, dodging a burst of light that would have seared him in two. As he ran towards his enemy, the angel cast a spell, increasing the physical prowess of the party. With this boost, the boy's friend flipped past Kagutsuchi's frontal defenses, shooting his foe mid flip and switching to a dodge roll as he landed, launching himself to the side to avoid what the boy was about to do.

The Demifiend held out his hands, materializing a blade of brilliant purple light. Charging towards Kagutsuchi while it was distracted with his red cloaked friend he swung the blade, causing a beam to erupt towards his enemy. Seeing the beam but not having enough time to avoid it, the god launched a combination of lightening and ice at the boy. Flipping out of the way, the boy watched as the beam he had launched connected with his foe. For the first time since the fight had begun, real damage could be seen on the deity in front of him.

Sensing weakness, the angel launched another assault on their enemy, eyes flashing, while he rained down lightening and fire from the sky. The Pixie continued to heal the group, weaving spells designed to buff their abilities into her routine. The boy's friend charged back into the fray slashing at any vulnerability he could find.

The Demifiend took a deep breath, victory was at hand. After everything that had happened, after everything that he had had to sacrifice to get to this point, he would finally atone for his sins. The boy then began to focus his power, it was almost time to deal the final blow and end this nightmare.

 **"** ** _Thou art drunk on freedom as the fallen angel was. You who stand against evolution, you who would stand against the recreation of the world, be consumed by my light."_**

The god's words came from everywhere and nowhere at once. The boy felt the pressure they radiated, but continued to build up his strength. Kagutsuchi had more power left then it had let on. They would have to make this quick if they were going to stand a chance of finishing it off. Just as he was thinking this, the light surrounding them began to get brighter and brighter. The boy opened his eyes and felt a flicker of fear begin to pass through him.

The god began to change, his form, originally it had been a pale blue sun surrounded by orbiting blue prism. These prisms flew into it, collecting into mass of hard light. As it changed, the sky continued to grow brighter and brighter, and then, all of a sudden everything went dark. It was as if all the light had been drained out of the sky and sucked into the god. The deity began to glow again with an awful light as the blue prisms that were now the entirety of its body replicated and combined, forming the face of an old man. It was dogmatic and harsh, the face of tyrant ready to discipline its subjects.

The Demifiend and Pixie quickly glanced into each other's eyes. This was it. This was what they had worked for. Everything since the Conception had led to this. Gritting his teeth, the Demifiend continued to summon his power as his allies moved into position.

Across the span of time and space, a girl with long, blue, hair stood on the edge of a lake. Her golden eyes were red and puffy. The girl began to cry to herself, sitting down at the edge of the dock. Her younger brother had made fun of her again, and even though her older sister had tried to cheer her up, she had needed some time alone.

Looking out across the expanse of the lake, the young princess known as Azura began to sing a song that her mother had taught her. It was the only reminder she had of her mother, and though it brought a wealth of sad memories, it also had always helped her to remember the good times as well. The song had always helped her to feel better when she was at her worst.

 _You are the ocean's gray waves, destined to seek_

 _Life beyond the shore just out of reach_

 _Yet the waters ever change, flowing like time_

 _The path is yours to climb_

Kagutsuchi unleashed a barrage of lasers at the group. As they flew forward, the Demifiend's friend, Dante, jumped into their path. Swinging his blade in a wide, arcing motion, he deflected the beams away from the young fiend. Meanwhile Kagutsuchi launched a fire storm and a hurricane at Pixie and the angel. The Pixie sprung from where it had been casting her support magic. Darting under the first flames, Pixie unleashed a short burst of lightning to consume the oxygen in the surrounding area. Using this to control the spread of the fire, Pixie flew through her newly formed path. The angel was not as concerned with the attack as Pixie. Extending his arm, he called forth a heavenly light to consume the firestorm while he sent his own hurricane to block Kagutsuchi's. Even as the attack was blocked, the giant head of the god began to open up, its power gathering as it prepared its next attack.

 _Embrace the dark you call a home,_

 _Gaze upon an empty, white throne_

 _A legacy of lies,_

 _A familiar disguise_

It was as if time stood still when Kagutsuchi unleashed its power. The attack known as Vast Light erupted consuming all in its path. The Demifiend's eyes widened as the light surged towards the group. Pixie and Dante rushed towards the fiend, desperate to protect their friend. As the attack was about to hit the angel rushed in front of them, blocking the majority of the attack. In the blink of an eye the group was scattered by Kagutsuchi's light. The angel was flung off the top of the tower, the life already fading from his eyes as Kagutsuchi's attack took its toll. Meanwhile Pixie and Dante had been hurled to either side by the remnants of the attack that had gotten past the angel's defense. The Demifiend stood his ground and shrugged off the remnants the blast, still charging his attack.

 _Sing with me a song of conquest and fate_

 _The black pillar cracks beneath its weight_

 _Night breaks through the day, hard as a stone_

 _Lost in thoughts all alone_

"Pixie now!" the Demifiend shouted desperately.

The fairy threw herself off the side of the tower after the falling body of the angel, already beginning to cast her next spell. Meanwhile Dante rose up, his red cloak billowing in the wind. He ran forward at the god again, firing his twin guns while he went.

 ** _"And now you fall into the abyss once again. Fall once more into the Labyrinth of Amala, only this time you shall not rise. No, this time, you will remain entombed for all eternity. Now fall!"_**

 _The path you walk on belongs to destiny, just let it flow_

 _All of your joy and your pain will fall like the tide, let it flow_

Blasting Dante out of the way, Kagutsuchi once more gathered its power. As it was about to unleash his Vast Light once more, the Demifiend closed his eyes. It was amazing, he had come all this way, fought all those battles, and now he would be annihilated all the same.

"I'm sorry Yuko. I guess I just wasn't strong enough."

"Giving up already, son of man?"

The Demifiend's eyes flew open. As Kagutsuchi began to launch his attack the angel flew up, revived by the last of Pixie's magic. Hurling himself towards the god, he punched it right as it unleashed its attack, forcing the beam skyward. As his eyes widened in response to his unexpected survival, the Demifiend felt his attack finally finish charging. The Demifiend smiled.

"Dante, now!"

Dante's reaction was immediate. He sprung off to the side, while simultaneously casting a spell to cripple Kagutsuchi's defenses.

The Demifiend looked upon Kagutsuchi. This was the end of the long road. He had come so far, met so many different beings. Along that journey he had watched as everything he had cared about fell apart. He had seen the people he had cared for most, Yuko, Chiaki, Isamu, either die or betray him. His world had literally ended. Nothing had remained.

He felt Pixie land on his shoulder, too tired to keep flying after reviving the angel. They looked at each other once again, only stopping when Pixie smiled at him. It hadn't all been bad. Though he had almost been consumed by his own despair, he had emerged from it stronger than before. He had met good people, true they were demons, but still. Nyx, Loki, Dante, the tribal leaders, even Metatron they had all joined him or helped him in their own ways. They had all believed in his dream. None of them could compare to Pixie though. She had been with him since the beginning. Through every trial, through every tribulation, she had been there. It was fitting now that she was still there by his side as his journey came to a close.

And as he unleashed his power, the Demifiend shouted its name to both the Heavens and the Abyss, the sound resonating across time and space.

 **"Freikugel!"**

Time itself stopped, and the sky flashed ebon as the Demifiend crackled with power. He had only used this attack once before, against Chiaki...

In an instant the beam connected with the god, and in that instant, reality crumbled to dust before the Demifiend's wrath.

 _You are the ocean's gray waves, destined to seek_

 _Life beyond the shore, just out of reach_

 _Yet the waters ever change, flowing like time_

 _The path is yours to climb_

Azura stopped singing and stood up. It was almost time for dinner and Mikoto would be disappointed if she was late for the evening meal. Also she couldn't let Takumi know how much he had hurt her. For her mother's sake she had to remain strong.

Taking one last glance at the now setting sun, she whispered the last lyric to her mother's song.

 _You are the ocean's gray waves_

* * *

 **Hello! I hope you enjoyed reading this prologue, the next chapter should be along very shortly. As you can probably tell this is a crossover between Fire Emblem Fates and SMT Nocturne. Before I say anything else I want to say up front that this will be very Fates focused for the first group of chapters. Also quick heads up- No children characters. Or at least none until the very end. Personally I just don't feel that they make sense in Fates' overall narrative... Also, expect at least a few changes to Fates' narratives to both connect better with the SMT universe and to close some of Fates' plot-holes. (Fates? Plot-holes? WHAT?!)**

 **Finally I'm not going to pretend I'm perfect, if you have any advice, criticism, or ideas, please by all means leave a review! I'd love to hear what you have to say and I'll try my best to answer any questions posted. (Unless spoilers of course. ;) )**

 **Thanks for your time, and I hope you enjoyed!**


	2. Chapter 1: Life in a Gilded Cage

_Where am I?_

It wasn't anything like his normal dreams. It was a grassy field with a river running down the center. There was an old bridge crossing the river about a hundred meters away. It was clearly old, probably at least a hundred years and of Hoshidan architecture. To the east, the field ended and the Bottomless Canyon along with the range of mountains that marked the border between Nohr and Hoshido stood. To the West, the field continued, eventually disappearing into the vast plains of Hoshido. The sky was a deep gray, the clouds blocking out the majority of the light from the sun. The field was instead lit by the glow of thousands of torches. These torches cast shadows against the legions of soldiers that stood opposed on both sides of the plains.

It was Corrin's worst nightmare. War had been declared.

Corrin looked to his right and saw a group of figures he did not recognize. They weren't dressed in any clothes that he had ever seen before. The one closest to him was a woman with short cut red hair who looked to be in her early twenties. Her clothes were white with crimson lining and silver shoulder pads. She was standing next to a white horse with wings, a Pegasus. He thought he remembered something about them in a book he had read. But that couldn't be right; the book had said that Pegasi were native to Hoshido. Though, he supposed that would explain the odd cloths they wore.

Besides the woman there was a teenage man with long, grey hair tied back into a ponytail. He wore a sort of white fur over a blue shirt. Corrin figured there was some official Hoshidan name for that type of clothing but for the life of him he didn't know it. He carried a golden bow without a string.

Besides him, another young woman stood holding what looked like a magic rod. Corrin recognized it as similar to the types that his sister Elise used. This looked different though, probably of Hoshidan make. This woman had pink hair and looked to be in her early teen years. She had a nervous look on her face and when she caught Corrin looking at her she smiled and looked away.

 _What is this? Who are these people?_

The red haired woman looked out over the area, a dark shadow crossing her face. "Takumi, I think the Nohrian's are beginning to advance. Come on, Corrin! We've got work to do!"

The woman got onto her Pegasus. And began to fly towards the battlefield.

"Wait," Corrin began, "What are you talking about? Why is Nohr attacking?"

"Corrin, what's wrong?" The red haired woman smiled. "Don't worry. All your siblings are here with you. Those Nohrians don't stand a chance against us!"

The woman's reassurances were interrupted by a thunderous roar that tore across the field. The river exploded with a golden light, the water evaporating as it was blasted into the sky.

Corrin grimaced. There was only one force capable of that kind power. Somewhere, someone had used a dragonvein to destroy the river.

But wait, only members of the royal family could use that kind of power. Did that mean that the Hoshidan royals had done it?

Corrin quickly glanced at the woman next to him. Her face had gone pale.

"That was a dragonvein!" The woman spat. "But how? I thought only members of the Nohrian royal family could do that."

The man with the ponytail walked towards the two of them, "Well isn't that nice. I've always wanted to use the Nohrian royals as target practice."

He looked past the Corrin and the woman and narrowed his eyes. "It would appear our eldest brother has engaged the enemy commander. It shouldn't be long before this filth is running back to Castle Krakenburg with their tails between their legs!"

 _The enemy commander?_ Corrin looked in the direction the man had remarked in. In the distance a white samurai with long brown hair was fighting a norhrian paladin in jet black armor. _Wait, I know that armor. Xander!_

Corrin took off at a run, sprinting down at what was now the center of the battlefield. Nothing else mattered but reaching his eldest brother. As he ran he saw both Nohrian and Hoshidan soldiers look at him in surprise. Some even made the mistake of trying to strike him. Those that did died quickly. As he ran, Corrin glanced down at the sword he was carrying. He couldn't remember where he had gotten it, but it was clearly unique. It was golden with a hilt that looked like to claws facing away from each other. _Why am I even trying to figure this out? Nothing else makes sense why should this?_

Eventually Corrin arrived at where the battle was taking place. When they saw him, both combatants sprung backwards. Corrin looked at them both, eventually setting his gaze on the figure of his older brother, the eldest child of Nohr, high prince Xander.

His brother smiled. "Thank heavens we found you, little prince. Don't worry, the rest of our siblings should be here soon. "

"Hold your tongue, dog!" The samurai growled. "Corrin, quickly! Come over here. We can take him out together and end this battle before there are any more casualties.

"Who do you think you-" Corrin's response was cut off with the arrival of three new warriors from what Corrin now realized to be the nohrian side of the battlefield.

"Oh my, they didn't hurt you did they? My darling little Corrin…" His older sister Camilla said from atop her undead wyvern.

To her left, Corrin's younger brother Leo came closer on his horse. "Haha, you have the devil's own luck brother."

"Yay! Corrin's back! Now we can all go home together and be a family again!" Corrin's youngest sister, Elise, squealed with joy.

Corrin smiled, "It's good to see you all. I was beginning to think this whole world had gone to-" he began as the three hoshidans from before arrived to back up the white samurai.

"B-Brother?" the pink haired girl asked with a nervous glance at the nohrian royals.

"He's my brother!" Elise yelled at her, outrage plain on her face.

The samurai looked down the edge of his blade at Xander. "Corrin quickly, return to us. Come back to your true family."

 _My true family?_

"No, Corrin come back to us! We love you, please come back to Nohr!" Xander yelled.

"Nohrian scum, get away from him! You already took him once, I'll be damned if I'll let it happen again!" The red haired Pegasus knight spat.

"Oh is that what you think?" Camilla said as she began to ready her ax, "I'll let you touch my little brother when the skies burn and the seas boil."

"You want to fight? Well that's fine with me!" The grey haired archer said, his golden bow now strung with bowstring of green energy. "Come on, this is for my family you scum!"

Leo said nothing, merely readying his tome, Brynhildr, for battle.

"Corrin!"

"Corrin!"

"CORRIN!"

Time seemed to stop. The dream began to fade and shift. The people in front of him were already distorted. Their faces were now nothing put pale masks with no distinguishing characteristics. The grass beneath his feet was gone. The sky and everything around him was fading to black.

Corrin tried to turn around but found that he couldn't move. By now everything in his dream was gone. There was nothing left but an inky black void pressing in from all sides.

Through the blackness Corrin saw two figures appear. He couldn't make out their features, but one appeared to be a child, or at the very least was quite short in stature. The other looked to be an adult.

"It is my honor to tell you that my master has shown an interest in you. Poor human, he wants to give you a special gift. It is vital that you receive this gift…"

A sense of panic overtook Corrin. He couldn't explain but the woman's voice… The words she was saying… Something was very wrong. This feeling in his bones, something terrible, something irreversible was about to happen.

"_ag_ama, the essence of _e_n_ power… You have _ the r_" The rest of the woman's message was too obscured to understand. The figures in front of Corrin had begun to fade.

 _Wait when did I cover my left eye?_ Corrin looked down at his left hand which until a second ago had been covering his left eye. "Why was I doing that?" Corrin's right hand edged downward, looking for a weapon as the figures in front of him began to grow more solid again. This time they were about the same height.

"Time to wake up milord."

The dream began to fade as Corrin felt himself regaining consciousness. Just as the dream was about to completely disappear he made out a final voice, one that was different from the others.

"Son of man, do not despair. Through your actions the power of the fiend may finally be put to rest."

As the voice faded Corrin finally opened his eyes and realized his body was dripping with sweat. _That dream… What was that? It felt so familiar, and… so wrong._

"Ummm, milord, it's time for you to get up please."

Someone off to his left was speaking but Corrin continued to stare at the ceiling. There was something odd about that dream, to the point where it was really bothering him. Those Hoshidans, who were they? Why did they seem to know him?

"It seems like another one of those days. Felecia are you ready?"

"O-of course!"

 _Wait. What was that I just heard?_

A sharp coldness exploded over his chest, biting into his body and quickly spreading down his arms and legs.

"AHHHHH I'm awake, I'm awake!"

The blue haired maid next to him cracked a small smile. "That is how we deal with slugabeds in the ice tribe."

Corrin sighed. "I've never heard THAT before. By the way, was that really necessary? It's still dark out."

"Milord we are in Nohr, it is always this dark." The butler standing at the entrance to the room spoke up.

Corrin looked around the room for the first time, noting that there were four people in the room as opposed to the usual two. "Very funny Jacob, you know what I meant. Now am I missing something? Oh gods, it isn't Iago's birthday again is it? I'm not sure I can take that again…"

The blue haired maid rolled her eyes and turned to her sister. "Felicia it would appear that our master has forgotten himself. If you wouldn't mind bringing him up to speed, I will begin the day's work."

"Of course!" the pink haired maid replied. Turning toward Corrin, she somehow tripped over the rug and fell onto the bed, her head landing in Corrin's lap. Shooting up, her face crimson, the embarrassed maid began stuttering out apologies. "MilordI'msosorry!Idon'tknowwhathappened,IpromiseI'llbemorecareful."

The splurge of apologies continued as Corrin sighed. "Felicia its fine, to be honest I'm used to this kind of thing by now."

"True, this is not exactly a new occurrence. Now, if you and Gunter have this covered, I will assist Flora in her duties."

"J-Jacob, t-thank you, but that won't be necessary." The now flustered blue haired maid said.

"Nonsense, it wouldn't due for Lord Corrin's butler to remain idle. Why the very notion is simply ludicrous. Now come, we will need to stop by the stable and bring Lilith up to speed. That girl always has her head in the clouds… Well, let's go."

The two left, Jacob continuing to go through the day's itinerary.

Corrin looked down at the still red faced maid standing in front of him, "Um Felicia, if it's not too much trouble, could we, you know…"

"What, OH right, of course, I'm sorry for the delay!" Felicia stammered, "Today is the day your older brother is coming to test your combat ability."

"Oh. Is that today? Wonderful."

"Milord, you don't sound too excited. Is something wrong?" the man in the black armor asked. "This is your chance to finally get out of this fortress after all. I would have thought you would be overjoyed."

"It's not that, Gunter. It's just, I had a really weird nightmare last night. I guess I'm still a little shell shocked." _I'm also not sure if I'm ready to fight Xander again. Last time was… ugh._

"Well you'll have to tell us about it later. Right now we have a schedule to keep. Felicia?"

"Yes sir?"

"Please gather Lord Corrin's sword and gear from the armory before reporting to your sister. The crown prince should be arriving within the hour and I will not have this household unprepared." Gunter ordered before turning back to his liege, "My lord, breakfast has been prepared for you in the main hall, after you finish Jacob will assist you in donning your armor for today's skirmish. Do you have any questions?"

"No Gunter that will be fine. Thank you. You too Felecia, thanks." The two servants bowed and left to finish preparations for the day's visitors.

Corrin finally got out of bed and began to dress himself. Eventually following Gunter's plan and walking down to the main dining hall.

The northern fortress. It was all Corrin could really remember. Ever since he had had that incident as a child and lost his memory his father the king had deemed it necessary to keep him isolated for his own protection. After all, an insane prince would only bring shame to the kingdom.

It wasn't all bad though. The faculty was kind, and he had grown up alongside a few of them. Jacob, Felicia, and Flora had all arrived when he was six years old. At first it had been very awkward. His governess had made it very clear that the three new children were servants and not his friends. As a result Corrin had done his best to obey and keep his distance. That had changed when he had come across Felicia being screamed at by that same governess. This was not unusual, but the beating that followed certainly was. Horrified, that night Corrin disguised himself as a servant and snuck into the kitchens and stole some of the pastries for the feast that would be held the next day in honor of the Dusk Dragon. He then split the pastries into two groups, one that he planned to bring to the two young maids as reparations, and the second he planted in the governess's chambers.

After planting the evidence, Corrin made his way into the maids' quarters and knocked on the two girls' door. A very wary Flora had opened the door, clearly worried that her sister was in trouble again.

Smiling Corrin had asked the two if he could come in- only to have the door quickly slammed in his face. Frowning now, Corrin went back to his room. There had to be something he could do. Looking at his book shelf he had asked himself what the heroes in his stories would do in his situation.

Corrin had sat up, he needed a diversion! If the two girls were focused on the door he could get in through the window! It was genius! But who would be the bait? Eventually settling on the young butler Jacob, Corrin paid him a visit. Upon explaining the situation as well as a seven year old possibly could, a red faced Jacob asked why Corrin had picked him. Replying that Jacob was the only one who could help him, a confused Corrin had watched as Jacob seemed to cry a little before joining him.

As far as how the plan went, it almost went off without a hitch. Almost. As it turned out the tree branch that Corrin had been using to get to the girls' window was a little drier and a little frailer than he had thought. Thankfully Jacob had realized something was wrong and the three servants had rushed to help him before he lost his grip on the window sill.

One long explanation later and the four of them were happily munching on the pastry. Felecia was beaming, her black eye all but forgotten while Flora kept stealing glances at the young butler. Corrin was smiling too much to care about anything and Jacob kept trying to keep everyone from waking up the castle.

The next day had pretty much gone as Corrin planned. The governess was fired and the maids were happy. Looking back at the misadventure, Corrin had to admit he might have over reacted. Hopefully the governess was doing better nowadays, not that Corrin would trade her happiness for Felicia's. He did not regret his decision; he just wished he had been a little cleaner.

Things really hadn't changed that much since then. Felecia was still clumsy when it came to housework and destructive when it came to cooking. Flora was still cold to everyone that wasn't Jacob or Gunter. Jacob was utterly loyal to Corrin and didn't care about much else. And Corrin continued to live in the Northern Fortress, waiting for the day he would be able to join his siblings outside and explore his home country.

Corrin walked into the dining hall and found the food the servants had prepared for him. Sitting down to eat, he looked around upon hearing the sound of footsteps coming from the outside hall.

"Hello my lord! How are you?" asked Lilith, the stable girl.

"Oh, hello Lilith. I'm doing well. How are you?"

"Fine, my lord. I'm just here getting some treats for the horses."

"Really? What's the occasion?"

Lilith seemed unsettled. "O-occasion. No occasion, my lord."

"Really? Then why are you so nervous?"

"Nervous! I don't know what you're talking about"

"Hmm? Of course. I must be mistaken… By the way, mind if I go down to the stables? I just want to check something real quick."

"NO! I mean, sorry my lord. But it wouldn't do for you to be absent for your brother's arrival."

"Oh come on! This will just take a minute. You're obviously hiding something."

Their conversation was interrupted by Jacob's return. "Ah, there you are my Lord. We have just received word, your brother should be arriving within the hour."

Taking one last glance at the flustered stable hand, Corrin got up to join his butler. "Alright, would you mind helping me with my armor Jacob?"

"Naturally, my lord."

"See you later Lilith!"

"Good luck, Lord Corrin!"

As they walked back to his room Corrin began to consider what it could have been that Lilith was trying to hide. Something about the horses… Could she be leaving? Doubtful. He had offered to either promote her or transfer her a few times. The first time she had cried and asked what she did wrong. The second time it had taken a week to get her to stop moping and telling the horses that "I think Corrin hates me!" Needless to say, Corrin had gotten the message after that. In fact ever since she had shown up five years ago, she had been very adamant about helping out at the Northern Fortress. For the life of him, Corrin couldn't think of a reason why, but he had grown fond of her over time, and she had proven herself a loyal servant countless times.

The duo arrived back at Corrin's room. Putting on his armor, Corrin resolved to visit the stables come nightfall. Whether or not he would be wearing a disguise and leaving a couple pillows under his blankets to throw off a certain elderly guardian… well that was just the boredom breaking through.

Corrin looked down at his silver grey armor as Jacob finished tightening the straps.

"There we are my lord. You are ready to go."

"Thank you Jacob."

"No need for thanks my lord. Now, if I may; I have some chores to attend to."

A sudden crash followed by what sounded like Felicia crying wafted into the room from down the hall.

Jacob sighed. "In fact it would appear a few items have just been added to my list. I trust you do not need my assistance to find your way to the entrance hall?"

"Was that a joke Jacob?"

"Of course not sir. Don't be ridiculous."

"My apologies, I must have been hearing things."

"I recommend focusing sir. You remember what happened the last time you fought your brother."

Corrin grimaced to himself. Last time had definitely been a brutal defeat to be sure. Even without his enchanted sword, Siegfried, Xander was a terrifying force in combat. The match had ended with Corrin receiving aid from a doctor and Gunter confining Jacob to his room so he couldn't poison the crown prince's tea in retaliation for the injuries. Needless to say, Corrin would rather not endure that again. Luckily he had been practicing religiously as of late. Not that there was much else to do.

Smiling to himself as he heard Jacob begin to help Felecia with whatever it was that she had broken, Corrin walked down to the main hall just as Gunter walked through the door along with two blond young men. One of them was tall with a strong brow and a hard jaw. His violet eyes were intense as they scanned the room, eventually settling down upon the white haired prince of Nohr.

"Hello little prince. It has been quite a while hasn't it?"

Corrin smiled. "Yes it has. How are you Xander?"

"Much better now. I've been looking forward to our duel. From the reports I've seen, you've been practicing quite a bit."

"You know I still don't know who's feeding you your information…"

"If you did, they wouldn't be a good spy now would they?" the other blond man said.

"Oh come on Leo, it's been five years now. I've narrowed it down, but every time I get close, some guy in a bright yellow mage outfit shows up and starts having a seizure in front of me. Then my notes are gone by the time he's done!"

"About that… next time could you not have Jacob and Flora arrest him? Believe it or not he IS a decent retainer. Sometimes."

"Only if you remember to wear your collar the right way."

"Sure that sounds reasonable- WAIT not again!"

The third prince of Nohr began to fumble over his collar. Corrin smiled. It was always fun to meet up with his siblings, even if it usually entailed either a normal beating from Xander or Camilla, a beating in chess from Leo, or a beating in hide and seek from Elise. It was always a joy to see them. They had their quirks to be sure, but he loved them all quite dearly.

Rolling his eyes at Leo's antics, Xander turned toward the white haired prince. "Are you ready little Prince? I have some work for later today and I would like to make this quick."

"Oh I'm sorry Xander, but don't worry I'll make sure you won't be to hurt for work."

"I'm sure you will. Now let's make our way to the field."

Nodding, Corrin turned towards his guardian. "Gunter, just in case this goes south… would you mind hiding some of the tea where Jacob won't find it? Regardless of how this goes, I want to have some with dinner."

"Naturally my lord."

Leo chuckled to himself while Xander looked confused.

"I thought it was Felicia who was the servant who couldn't cook? Why would Jacob be a problem?"

"It's not important. Now we were about to start killing each other right?"

Leo rolled his eyes as Corrin gave their older brother a faux-innocent face before starting up the stairs, followed shortly by his white haired older brother. Still confused Xander followed his two younger half-brothers as they headed up the stairs to the arena, already looking forward to the fight to come.

* * *

Corrin rolled underneath the overhead strike Xander had rained down at him. Quickly he regained his footing and threw a repost back at his older brother. Effortlessly the crown prince knocked it away before shoving his sword's pummel into Corrin's diaphragm and driving him back. Growling, Corrin came at him again, this time trying a double feint to buy distance as he attempted to force Xander over to where the smoother patio of the arena connected to the normal cobblestone that made up the remainder of the fortress's floors. It would be only a slight change in footing, but if Corrin could get Xander to trip up for even a fraction of a second, it might be possible to shift the fight's momentum.

As they got closer to the boarder, Corrin began to feel more and more confident. This was going well. Though Xander was clearly not going all out, nor was he wielding Siegfried, the white haired prince was managing to keep up. He could recognize the moves that his enemy was using, and better still, he had enough time to react.

 _Just a little more… I almost have him._

Then Xander crouched down, lowering his center of gravity. Momentarily thrown off guard, Corrin threw a sloppy strike at Xander's left side right below his ribs. Blocking the strike off his shield, Xander pushed past his younger brother ducking underneath his sword arm and turning as he went, finally finishing the move with a kick to the square of his foe's back. Completely off balance Corrin, fell forward, tripping on the boundary he had been hoping to use on Xander, and fell face first onto the cobblestone.

"You didn't think that would work, did you Corrin." Xander asked, with a raised eyebrow.

"Well for a second it seemed like it might."

"You did well to use your environment," Xander replied raising an arm and pointing towards the center of the arena, "but as a prince you can do far better than that."

Corrin looked in the direction he was pointing, and as he did Xander shot a blast of golden fire from his hand. The flame jumped to the center of the arena where the high prince had pointed and sunk into the ground. An instant later the ground began to glow with a gentle, green light.

"A drgaonvein." Corrin whispered. "Remind me, has that been there for the last twelve years and I'm just oblivious? Or did I hit my head a little harder than I thought?"

"Neither, given proper preparation new dragonveins can be developed. It takes time and resources, but depending on the situation, they can be worth the price." Xander replied. "For instance, I suspected after last time that you would need help healing after our fight."

"Nice to know I inspire such confidence." Corrin growled while rolling his eyes.

Xander chuckled, "You're actually doing quite well. You've surpassed my expectations." Xander's face hardened. "However, if you ever wish to leave this fortress, you'll have to do far better. Father expects results, and if you don't prove yourself soon, it is doubtful you'll ever escape."

"What!? He didn't actually say that, did he?"

"He did. Now prove yourself to him. Come at me!"

And come Corrin did. After healing in the newly formed healing location he rushed at his brother. As he ran, Corrin went through multiple strategies as he approached. Cycling through his thoughts, Corrin considered that the fight had been going on for a while. Perhaps keep fighting until Xander got tired? Corrin dismissed the idea. Against anyone else it might have been possible to outlast him, but even though Corrin's armor was far lighter than Xander's, his older brother was an ox. He could continue for hours if he had to. The terrain plan had already failed so that was out as well.

He would have to play his ace. It was obvious that he couldn't beat Xander with a blade. Then again that was expected. His older brother had always been a prodigy. As long as it was a sword fight, there was little Corrin could do. He didn't want to do it this way. But there didn't seem to be much of a choice. Even after healing in the dragon vein, he was still tired and he wasn't sure how much longer he would be able to stay focused.

As he engaged the crown prince, he began with a few light strikes, simulating a wary probe into Xander's defenses. A swordsman of Xander's caliber would see through the deceit, he would know that the probe was designed to ease him into a sense of comfort before dealing a more powerful strike. He would expect the next powerful, desperate, attack. Xander would then block the strike, and depending on how Corrin reacted to his parry, either finish the fight or back off and let him try something else.

He knew he would see through his ploy. He knew it, and was depending on it.

Corrin switched his body language as Xander blocked the last of his strikes, now was the time for the overhead hit. Bringing down his blade with all his weight Corrin brought down his sword as Xander braced himself and lifted his weapon to parry it. And when the blades collided-

Corrin let go of his sword.

Thrown off balance from the lack of resistance to his parry, Xander's sword jerked upwards. Using the momentum from his strike, Corrin ducked under Xander's sword and grabbed onto his wrist while simultaneously lowering his center of gravity and placing his foot against his older brother's. Turning his back to his brother, Corrin pulled on his brother's arm while twisting it, flipping the crown prince over his right shoulder and onto his back.

Pressing his advantage, Corrin kicked away Xander's sword and followed up with two punches to his older brother's face. Dodging Xander's impulse punch in retaliation Corrin rolled with the blow and grabbed onto the crown prince's arm, using it to turn him onto his chest; finally, putting Xander into an arm-bar hold. After about thirty seconds of struggling, Xander stopped fighting and sighed.

"Alright Corrin. I submit, you can let go."

Letting go of his brother's arm and jumping to his feet, Corrin offered a hand to help him up, smiling while he did.

"I have to say, that was quite an… unorthodox method of fighting." Xander continued. "What was that?"

"You'd be surprised what you could learn from an old book on hoshidan martial arts." Corrin replied. "Of course that wouldn't have mattered without ample practice time." Corrin feigned confusion for a moment. "Wait! When would I EVER have time for that…"

"Sarcasm doesn't become a prince." Xander replied. "By the way, Leo, how is it that your spy wasn't able to pick up- what four months of practice?"

"Six months."

"Well done Corrin, way to stay committed. Six months Leo. I would have thought that would have shown up in your reports."

Corrin smirked. "Normally it would have. If I hadn't only practiced at night on the mannequins Flora and Felecia use to help with their sewing, that is."

Leo sighed. "I suppose that explains why you started sleeping in a little more often than normal."

"Again, that is ridiculously creepy that you know that. Why did father order this again?" Corrin grumbled.

"I'm sorry brother, but it's for your own safety." Leo grimaced, "I don't like doing it, but ever since that amnesia affair you had twelve years ago Father wants to ensure you are in peak mental acuteness."

Xander nodded. "I'm sorry little prince, but it is for the best. Besides, I have some good news."

"CCCOOOOORRRRRIIIIINNNNN!" a high pitched voice squealed from the entrance to the arena.

Corrin glanced towards the source of the noise to see two familiar looking figures walking towards him. One was younger, probably in her early teens, with blond hair braided into two braids. She wore a black and pick skirt and a white shirt with a pink bow. The other looked to be in her early twenties, and wore black armor along with an ebon crown in her long purple hair. Both had the striking purple eyes of the Nohrian royal family.

"Hello Elise. Hello Camilla. It's great to see you!" Corrin exclaimed. "OOF."

Elise had run at her older brother, slamming into him and hugging his waist. Leo sighed.

"Elise, come now. Aren't you getting a little old for that?"

"Oh, come on Leo. Let the girl express herself." The purple haired princess said, looking fondly at her younger siblings. "Besides, it's my turn next."

Finally prying Elise off of him, he gave his older sister an affectionate hug as well. "Not that I'm not happy to you two, but I have to ask… What's the occasion?"

Camilla smiled at her younger brother, "Oh? They haven't told you yet? I'd thought that would be the first thing they would have done."

Leo grinned, "We would have, but Corrin actually won the fight."

Camilla's mouth dropped. "Wait what? How? Did Xander let you win?"

"No he planned for this fight months in advance and pulled off a stunning victory." Xander said, nodding.

Corrin blushed, "Xander. It wasn't anything like that."

"Nonsense. It was an excellent strategy and it played to your strengths. That being said, your swordsmanship still needs a lot of work. And I expect for us to have more frequent practice bouts once we reach the capitol."

"Thanks?" Corrin asked, a bit confused. "Wait. Did you say the capitol?"

"Yes Corrin." Xander said, smiling. "Father said that if you fought well today it would be proof that you are finally ready to return to the court."

"Now normally, that would have meant displaying proper ability, form and the like." Leo added. "But seeing how you won, well that makes this a lot easier."

"How did you win, big bro?" Elise asked.

"Hoshidan martial arts book." Corrin replied.

"How did you even get that?" Camilla asked.

"Some old friend of mine left me a bunch of books before he got kicked out of the fortress for some reason. I can't really remember the details." Corrin shrugged. "I came across it about a year ago and started studying it."

"Regardless. What's done is done. Be proud of what you have accomplished." Xander stated. "However, remember that trick will only work once, and on a battlefield not even that."

"Of course, brother."

"Excellent, now your servants should be done packing your things by now. Let's go and check on the preparations."

"Yay! Let's go!" Elise said. "I'm going to say high to Lilith."

Corrin and his siblings followed the princess down the stairs into the fortress. It was hard to believe. He was finally leaving the fortress after twelve years. Life could be worse.

* * *

 **Alright Chapter 1 is out! I hope you guys are enjoying this so far. Again, sorry for the lack of SMT stuff but rest assured I do have a plan in the works. Also don't worry, Corrin isn't some kind of martial arts genius. That was a just a one-off strategy to deal with Xander, and like he said, Corrin is no where near experienced enough to actually apply those skills in a real battle. It was just a way to help give Corrin a little bit more character.**

 **Demons Anarchy of Pride- Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll make sure not to take too long to update!**

 **Next time, the King of Nohr himself, Garon!**


	3. Chapter 2: The King of Nohr

"So that's Cetraria, right?"

Leo nodded. "Correct." The third prince of Nohr looked over his shoulder at the farmers who were working the fields around them. "Since there is perpetual night in Nohr, normal crops are all but impossible to grow. Instead we harvest the edible moss, Cetraria."

Corrin nodded. "Right. But doesn't the sun come out in Nohr on certain days? I thought I read something about that."

"You are right of course." Lea responded, "Occasionally the sun does come out. Once every month to be precise. It's actually a pretty common time for festivals to be held."

"Really? A festival?" Corrin asked. "Can we go?"

"Oh? If you're so intrigued, you simply have to go to the Festival of Day and Night." Corrin's older sister Camilla offered, riding up from behind to join in on the two brothers' conversation. "It's the biggest celebration in Nohr and Hoshido."

Leo nodded. "I must admit I'm looking forward to that one myself."

"Why, haven't you been?" Corrin asked, confused.  
"None of us have dear," Camilla said. "Well Xander and I have, but we were too young to remember it. It's only held once every twenty years when the skies over Nohr and Hoshido switch for twenty four hours."

"A holiday held once every twenty years… I wonder what it's like." Corrin trailed off.

They had been traveling for days now. Ever since they had left the Northern Fortress for the capitol, Corrin had been awestruck as the group had traveled across the nohrian countryside. The grey crags and mountains that made up the majority of the countryside loomed around them while the glistening starlight shined down from above. The faint glow of torches and Cetraria moss could be seen in the distance from the road they were traveling on, as well as the ancient petrified trees from an age long gone. It was a dismal and forlorn scene to be sure, but no one in attendance really minded. For Corrin, it was all new and exciting. For his siblings it was where they had grown up. Even at its most desolate, it was still home.

After his fight with Xander, Corrin had reunited with his servants and finally discovered what Lilith had been hiding from him. Apparently Xander had been quite confident in his younger brother's abilities and sent word ahead to pack up his belongings. That morning Lilith had been making last minute preparations with the horses while Felicia and Flora had packed his cloths and armor.

 _And now here we are… about to arrive at Windmire, the capital of Nohr. It's a little daunting._

As he looked out over the countryside, his siblings rode on ahead to see how Elise was doing in the carriage further up their caravan. Corrin looked around again, watching how the stars glistened in the sky with no clouds to block them.

"Beautiful, isn't it milord?"

Corrin looked to his left and saw that Lilith had rode up next to him, her blue and crimson hair bouncing on her shoulder as her horse settled into an even pace next to his.

"Ya, I just never thought that I'd be out here. Everything is so big."

"True, milord." Lilith smiled. "The world is a lot bigger than the northern fortress."

"Speaking of which, isn't it kind of odd we haven't seen any other travelers?" Corrin asked. "I would have thought that we would have at least seen one."

"Most travelers actually use a system of underground tunnels to get around the country."

"Really? Why?"

"Bandits mostly. It's usually safer to travel underground. Besides milord, it's not like it's any brighter up here."

Corrin nodded. The Cetraria moss was a staple food to be sure, but there just wasn't enough of it. Even during a bountiful harvest there was usually a large portion of the country that went hungry. As a result, a lot of the populace had to resort to thievery for food. In the past, Corrin recalled that this problem had been solved by trading Nohr's surplus of minerals and gems with the neighboring country of Hoshido. That had stopped a little over a decade ago when the two countries had broken off all diplomatic ties and trade agreements. Apparently there had been some sort of dispute during a peace conference, not that it mattered to the people starving.

"Oh! Milord look, its Windmire!"

Rising in the distance, Corrin could see the spires of the wall that surrounded the Nohrian capitol. If what he had read were to be believed, those black walls surrounded a huge pit that contained the city proper. The city was then terraced, with the most wealthy and powerful sections being further down and closer to the center of the pit. The poorer districts were closer to the top and to the outside walls.

"Wow that's amazing! Is this your first time seeing it Lilith?"

"No, I've been there once before. But it was a long time ago I don't really remember much of it."

"What?! You too, I thought I was the only one!"

Lilith rolled her eyes. "You know what I meant, milord."

"Sorry, couldn't resist. By the way you think it's okay to leave Jacob and Flora alone at the Northern Fortress?"

"W-what are you talking about?"

Corrin turned around to see a flustered Felicia approaching. "Oh, hi Felicia. We were just discussing the trip, and a big part of that is what is happening while we're gone."

"But why would there be a problem, Jacob and Flora are amazing! I wish I could be half the servant they were."

"Umm, Felicia, I don't think that's what he was talking about…"

"Yep." Corrin dryly responded. "Though now that I think about it, the chances of Jacob actually picking up on any of the hints are about as likely as… umm."

"About as likely as you actually beating me in chess." Leo said as he rejoined the group.

"Wait you guys know about that?" Felicia gasped, her face going red. "But Flora was so careful…"

"Yes, about as careful as Corrin when he's bored." Leo muttered.

"Hey low blow collar boy!"

"You just refuse to let that go, don't you?"

Lilith sighed as the two brothers began to argue. "Don't worry Felicia. I'm sure everything will be fine. Jacob's kind of oblivious when it comes to this kind of thing."

"I know, I just hope Flora doesn't get too discouraged…"

The rest of their conversation was interrupted as they entered the city. Corrin felt his pulse begin to rise. He hadn't seen his father in almost ten years. In fact the only contact he had had was through letters and the occasional messenger. To actually meet the man that had controlled his life for the past eighteen years was staggering. Biting his lip and preparing to see just what that might entail, Corrin entered the city.

* * *

"Announcing the second prince of the Country of Nohr, Prince Corrin!"

Corrin walked through the doors of the throne room with Felicia and Gunter flanking his right and left respectively. As they approached the ebon throne they all dropped to a knee and looked to the floor.

"Hail, Garon, King of Nohr. I have come to present myself to you."

Silence. Followed by footsteps, footsteps that gradually got closer, eventually coming to a stop in front of the white haired prince.

"Rise, my son, let me see your face."

Corrin looked up slowly from the ground to see the man standing in front of him. He was a giant of a man covered in regal black armor adorned with golden trim. An ebon cape with white fur hung from his shoulders. Atop his head sat the black crown of Nohr. Long white hair fell to his shoulders while a white and black beard dropped down to his chest. The king's mouth was a firm line while two violet eyes stared the second prince down before breaking into a smile.

"My how much you have grown… Why it seems that only yesterday that you were only as tall as my knee. And from what I've heard quite the accomplished warrior as well. I am proud of the man you have become."

"Father, I am honored beyond words to hear you say that. I have dreamed of this day for years."

"It was not dreams that brought you to me, my son. No, it was hard work, determination, and foresight." The king turned around, walking back to his throne and sitting down. "Come my children, pay witness to the return of my long lost son."

The four royal siblings entered the throne room, taking their positions at their father's side.

"Now Xander, once more for everyone present, tell me how your younger brother preformed at the Northern Fortress."

The crown prince stepped forward. "My younger brother, second prince Corrin of Nohr, demonstrated superior ability and prowess in combat. I am honored that he should join me on the battlefield."

"Excellent. I am pleased." The king nodded. "Come forth my child. I have a gift for you."

As Corrin approached the throne the king held out his hand, conjuring a black blade. It was curved with a purple aura surrounding it. The cross guard held a massive amethyst with black fog circling inside. The entire sword appeared to be made out of granite. The crags and creases of the rock continued to emit the faint purple light that had come with its appearance.

"This is the legendary weapon, Ganglari. It was forged in times immemorial and used in the ancient wars of our ancestors. I bequeath it onto you. May it gain new life by your hand."

"Father… I am honored. I will strive to use it for the betterment of Nohr. I will not let your generosity be in vain. " Corrin said as he approached the king. Grasping the sword and examining it, Corrin didn't notice the shadow pass over his older brother's face.

 _Generous indeed… That weapon, there is something wrong about it._ Thought the crown prince.

"Now my son, allow me to bear witness to your power. Leo, release the prisoners. Corrin, grind them to dust. Show them the power of the Ganglari."

At the king's command, Leo held up a hand, unleashing a dragon vein and opening the right wall of the room to reveal a group of Hoshidan soldiers. "These maggots were found attempting to infiltrate our country. Needless to say, they were captured; however they have out lived their usefulness. I want you to annihilate them. Prove to me that you carry the power to change the world!"

"Yes. My king."

* * *

The servants of the second prince jumped to his side, weapons drawn and at the ready.

"Gunter what should I expect from the enemy?"

"We are facing native Hoshidan forces milord. Swordsmen and spearmen to be precise. They will be formidable, but their time in the dungeon should have taken most of the fight out of them. There also appears to be a ninja and an oni savage. Those will be more of an issue."

"Naturally. Wait, is that…"

Corrin walked forward; a part of the floor seemed to be glowing, its power radiating outward. Stepping on the floor, Corrin raised his right hand. A surge of golden fire shot outward, blasting the mosaic in the center of the room.

"Milord that was incredible! W-what's wrong? Corrin!?"

The white haired prince looked like he was going to fall down. He could barely keep his eyes open and was using his sword as a support. Corrin smiled weakly.

"It's, it's nothing. Don't worry about me; dragon veins always make me feel nauseous."

"Are you sure? You look-"

"I'm fine. I'm fine." Waving her off, "It's going to take a lot more than an upset stomach to take me out. Good thing too considering your cooking…"

"Milord, perhaps we could weaponize some of her cookies?"

"Gunter!"

"Ooh, I like it. Maybe we could- nah isn't there a law or something banning cruel and unusual weapons?"

"Corrin! That's mean!"

Chuckling the prince began to walk forward. "Alright, alright, more on that later. Lets go."

The prince and his servants hurried to the newly opened area. "Alright Gunter, take the right entrance while I take the left. Felicia, make sure we keep breathing."

"Understood."

"Yes, milord."

Taking their positions, the trio waited for the enemy to reach them. Corrin heard the first sounds of battle from behind him as Gunter dispatched the first swordsman. Raising Ganglari Corrin surged forward as the first spearman appeared in front of him. Slashing downward, Corrin's sword hit the shaft of the enemy's spear and splintered it in a blast of purple energy. Leaving the hoshidan soldier convulsing from the energy blast, Corrin continued to move through the enemy soldiers. Each only took a single, devastating strike from the Ganglari to put down. By the time there was only one left, Corrin was wading through a purple mist.

"Lay down your weapons. There's nothing left you can do." Corrin demanded, brandishing his sword.

His target, the green haired hoshidan ninja grimaced.

"…"

"Nothing to say? Doesn't matter, I guess. Just know that I don't take any enjoyment from this."

Corrin sprinted at the ninja, flipping over the first shuriken and rolling under the second. The ninja jumped back in an attempt to increase distance between the two of them while Gunter appeared to back up the second prince. Momentarily distracted by the new arrival, the green haired ninja didn't see Corrin's second servant flank behind him, shutting off his escape route.

Looking around, the ninja's face fell.

"As I said, there is nothing left you can do."

… I'd rather die with weapons in my hands if it's all- AACCKK."

Felicia had somehow managed to trip again and somehow her staff had managed to find its way to the ninja's head. Momentarily stunned, there was nothing he could do to stop Corrin from striding forward and pummeling him into submission.

"Excellent job my son."

Corrin turned to see his father and siblings approaching. His father nodded in approval.

"That sword suits you. It was as if devastation was given shape. Now, finish it."

"Father?"

"Execute the prisoners."

"But, they're not in any position to fight! I- I was careful to make sure not to deal any killing blows!"

The king placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "My child, try to understand. These are enemy soldiers; agents sent to our country to destabilize it and promote rebellion. Their appearance is nothing less than an act of war. If I were a lesser man I would have retaliated."

"That's not true." One of the hoshidan soldiers, a woman with white hair, grumbled. "We were kidnapped from a border outpost."

The king nodded. And a guard kicked the fallen combatant. "Do you see what I mean, Corrin? They lie as easily as they breathe! Now," He said placing a hand on the Ganglari, "drive in the knife."

Corrin looked down at his weapon and then back to the fallen enemies. "Father, I, I, I can't. I can't kill them in cold blood."

The king sighed, removing his hand from the Ganglari, and walking back to his throne.

"I'm disappointed Corrin. Not surprised, but disappointed. Leo, restrain your brother."

"What?!" Corrin gasped as his younger brother's Brynhildr flared to life, branches springing to life and wrapping around the white haired prince's arms and legs. "Leo, why?!"

"Sorry brother, my hands are tied here." Leo grumbled. "But don't worry this will only take a minute or so."

"Iago, come to me."

"You called my king?" The first advisor of the King of Nohr said as he entered. Looking at the captive prince he chuckled. "My, my Corrin I expected you to last for at least a little longer than this. What has it been? Two, maybe three hours?"

"Shove it, Iago!"

"Oh my, so temperamental. I see you still haven't learned any manners."

"Iago! If you would please focus."

"My apologies, your grace." He said, bowing. "Ah, I assume you want for me to exterminate this filth?"

"Yes and no. Corrin needs to learn the way of the world. I would like to make that lesson… memorable. As such, I have decided to send them to Anankos."

"Aaahhh, an excellent choice my king." The Sorcerer stepped forward and walked toward the enemy troops, coming to a stop in front of them. "Do not worry. I promise you all; as one life ends another begins. And as you come to an end, by the grace of the divine dragon Anankos you will rise again."

Raising his hand, Iago began to chant under his breath. As he did a swirling blue cylinder of energy appeared in front of his hand. As it began to swirl faster and faster, it launched towards the hoshidan soldiers, hitting the ground in the center of the group. Upon impact the cylinder exploded into a brilliant flash of light. Turning away from the intense flare Corrin tried in vain to break free from the branches binding his arms and legs. But the time the light had faded, Corrin still hadn't managed to break free. And when he turned back to where the soldiers had been sitting he found that there was nothing left. The light had consumed them.

"It is done my king."

Garon nodded. "Excellent. Leo, release your brother."

Corrin barely noticed as the branches receded back into the ground, still staring at the ground where the unarmed soldier had been.

"Xander, take your brother back to his room. It appears he is exhausted from his battle. Corrin, I will speak to you later tonight."

"Yes father." Xander responded as he almost dragged Corrin to his feet and leading him and his other siblings out of the room, leaving the king alone with his advisor. After they were sure that the royal children were out of earshot the king spoke.

"Iago… You sent them to the divine dragon alive, did you not?"

"Of course your majesty. It would be a pity to waste such fine stock."

Nodding, the king looked up to the ceiling where a statue of dragon met his gaze.

"Of course. Now… what to do with my errant son?"

* * *

"Hans?! What the hell are you doing?" Corrin demanded as he stared down the bald berserker.

"Does it matter? You're not going to be able to care after I'm done." Hans said as he rushed the prince.

Jumping back, Corrin ducked under the first strike. Hearing the sound of a horse coming from behind him, he threw himself to the right, rolling as Gunter surged forward and swung his lance at the traitor, knocking him back and buying the prince space.

It had all been going so well… After the fiasco with the hoshidan soldiers, the king had ordered Corrin to retake a former Nohrian outpost at the bottomless canyon as a form of redemption. The location marked the boundary between Nohr and Hoshido and the outpost had been swarming with enemy troops. Luckily the king had supplied Corrin with another soldier in addition to Felicia and Gunter. His name was Hans.

Xander had explained to Corrin that he had originally been a criminal until the king had found him. Supposedly he was rehabilitated, but his older brother had made sure to tell Corrin to watch his back. The advice had been well founded. The moment the group arrived at the target Hans had abandoned them and gone off on his own, killing without hesitation and giving away their presence.

Through a little luck and a lot of skill the three nohrian soldiers had managed to take the outpost without Hans's help. That had been where things had gone from bad to worse. Hoshidan reinforcements had arrived.

After ordering Felicia to go for help, Corrin and Gunter had held their ground for as long as they could. But eventually the hoshidan forces, led by two ninja, managed to push them back. Gunter stayed behind to buy Corrin time to run, which he reluctantly accepted. When he had finally been about to escape across the rope bridge to the nohrian side of the chasm, Hans had returned. And now he was attempting to kill him.

"I beg your pardon milord. I was attending to some rather nasty business."

"No problem Gunter. Just next time, maybe give me a heads up before running me over. Please?"

"Of course, milord."

"What about the hoshidans? Are they still after us?"

"From what I heard they were waiting for some prince to arrive with more reinforcements."

"Then we're almost out of time. We'll have to make this quick."

"You done?" Hans sighed and began to smile. "Well I hope you don't have anything else to say, cause I'm afraid you're out of luck…" Hans charged the elderly knight. He dodged the first strike and swung his ax at the elderly knight who effortlessly parried it. The ax bounced off the spear and ricocheted, accidentally cutting the rope that was helping to keep the bridge they were on intact. The effect was immediate, with the support gone, one of the wood planks that Gunter's horse was standing on came loose. The horse began to tip, and as Corrin watched in horror, Gunter and his steed plummeted into the canyon, a luck of surprise plastered to his face as he fell.

"Haha WOW. Talk about a fun way to go. Serves that old man right. Trying to pick a fight he has no place picking." Hans looked back at the prince, still smiling. "Now your turn, _your highness_."

Corrin was still looking at the spot where, until a moment ago, his oldest mentor had been standing.

"Oh? Are you going to cry? Damn I knew you royals were wimps but seriously? Come on!"

Corrin looked back at the man standing in front of him, every fiber of his being burning with rage. "You. You. YOU BASTARD!" The prince sprinted towards Hans, swinging Ganglari as he went. As Hans blocked the magic sword, Corrin curled his left hand into a fist. As he swung it at the traitor, something happened. The flesh that made up his hand began to contort and twist. Grey scales grew over the skin and his fingers extended into long black claws. Instead of a fist Corrin's arm now ended in a giant claw, approximately sixty centimeters in width.

As the claw was about to strike the traitor, instead of hitting him a blast of water erupted from the center of the structure hitting the offending face at point blank. Hans barely had time to blink before being launched backwards across the bridge, spinning through the hair before landing with a thud. At first it appeared that the man was dead, but a few coughs quickly proved that false.

"What?" Hans stammered, gasping for air as he stood up. "What the hell are you?!"

Corrin didn't even hear him. As his newly formed claw had recoiled from the water blast, his eye had begun to itch. It had started as a barely noticeable tingle but after the blast it had erupted into a volcano of pain. It was all encompassing.

"AARRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH!" Corrin screamed, holding his eye in agony. The fight was forgotten, Hans forgotten. Nothing else mattered but the pain currently stabbing through his left eye. He didn't notice when Hans, seeing an opening turned and fled, his task compete. In fact, he didn't even realize when he stumbled over to the edge of the bridge in pain and, unceremoniously, fell, slipping into unconsciousness from the mysterious pain as he did.

* * *

 _No Corrin, please no!_ Lilith thought in desperation as she ran towards the abyss. She had seen everything, from the mission's failure through Corrin's partial transformation. It hadn't been until Corrin had fallen that Lilith had begun to panic. When she had heard that the king had ordered him to the bottomless canyon, she had thought something like this would happen. Hoped beyond hope that it wouldn't, but thought all the same. That's why she had followed her master after all. It was why she was the only one close enough to do anything.

* * *

Garon smiled. Everything was in place. Hans had done his job brilliantly. Now all that remained was for Lilith to unwittingly make his plan a reality. And once she did, the problem of Hoshido's barrier would be permanently solved.

Lilith would save Corrin and then the prince would be captured by Hoshidan forces. All that remained was for the stable girl to bring them both to the Astral Realms before dropping the prince off at the top of the canyon.

"Iago, your Hoshidan contact is in position to pick up my son when he reappears, correct?

"Naturally my king."

"Excellent."

* * *

 _Corrin, please hold on. I'm begging you please!_

Lilith hurled herself into the abyss.

 _I just need to reach him!_

* * *

 _If she can touch him._ The king thought. _Just one finger will be enough. But she will have to hurry…_

* * *

 _If I don't reach him in time, he'll enter- NO I WON'T LET THAT HAPPEN._

* * *

 _She's so close…_

* * *

 _Just a few more centimeters…_

"Oh Astral Dragons, hear my prayer. Please grant us access to the astral realms. I beseech you!"

As she prayed Lilith reached out to grab Corrin's ankle...

* * *

 _And now!_

* * *

Lilith's fingers brushed against Corrin's ankle and for a second Lilith smiled in relief as she felt the power of the Astral Dragons begin to move them out of conventional space.

`Then Corrin's ankle exploded into light. Radiant power more intense than anything she had ever seen was being emitted from the point on the ankle where she had touched him. As the light came, so did a shockwave that knocked Lilith backwards, ripping her away from the white haired prince and slamming into the canyon wall. As the darkness began to encroach on her vision as she lost consciousness from the blast, a thought flared through her dimming mind.

 _Why? Why couldn't I pull him in?_

* * *

"Iago. Call off your contact."

The advisor looked at the king with a start. "My king? Is something wrong?"

Garon looked up at the statue of a dragon above the throne room. "I don't know. But somehow, Lilith seems to have failed. The two of them have entered the kingdom of our god… We will need to modify our plan."

Iago's eyes narrowed. "How is that possible?"

"If I knew it wouldn't have happened." The King thundered. "Now. Leave me."

Bowing, Iago backed away from his master and made his way towards the door contemplating as he did.

* * *

Corrin was hovering in a black abyss. He was confused. Nothing seemed to make sense. Memories and feelings were flowing through his head faster than he could keep up, images of a giant silver claw and a traitorous berserker.

"Ple-s- C-rr-n! Y-u Ha-e to wake up!"

 _What? That voice… I know it._ The words cut through the fog of his mind like a scalpel through flesh. Their familiarity was drawing him back to his senses.

"Corrin please… we don't have time."

 _Lilith? But why?_ Corrin began to struggle, writhing in the abyss, trying to get to the voice. From the sound of it, she was desperate, and Corrin would not leave one of his friends in that state.

"Corrin we have to leave now! Come on!

The second prince of Nohr opened his eyes to see a crying Lilith kneeling over him.

"Lilith?" Corrin croaked out as he tried to prop himself up onto his elbows.

"Corrin?!" Lilith gasped, hugging him. "I thought you were dead!"

Corrin looked around over Lilith's shoulder, patting her on the back as he did so. They were sitting on a green field surrounded by ruins, but that was the only normal part of their setting. In the distance the field bended skyward, curving upwards. In the distance what appeared to be islands floated hundreds of feet in the air. Waterfalls from those islands could be seen falling from island to island. More ruins could be seen in the distance along with what appeared to be torches, glowing faintly in the bright sun.

"Lilith, where are we?"

* * *

 **Thank you guys for reading and for your patience! I hope you guys have been enjoying the story so far, but I'll be the first to admit it really has been mostly a retelling of the first few chapters of the game. (Not that that's a bad thing!) Needless to say... well, that kind of went out the window in the Bottomless Canyon. Also, you probably noticed I took some extreme liberties with Garon's character. The reasons behind this will become more apparent as we go, but for now lets just say that I really hate writing one dimensional characters.**

 **As always, if you have any ideas, suggestions, or criticisms, please let me know! I would love to hear them all!**

 **Stay tuned for next time when Corrin and Lilith try to escape the Invisible Kingdom!**


	4. Chapter 3: Confessions of a Stable Girl

Chapter 3: Confessions of a Stable Girl

"Lilith calm down for five seconds!"

"I told you there's no time. We have to get out of here!"

"You're being hysterical!"

Lilith didn't respond and instead proceeded to continue to drag her liege through the knee high, emerald grass. Ever since Corrin had woken up to find Lilith crying over him and his sword gone, he had been dying to find out just what was going on. Where were they? How did they get here? Just what were they running from? When did his stable girl get this pushy?

Corrin looked around as they ran, his eyes practically devouring any and all details pertaining to his surroundings. Once again he noticed the large islands floating in the sky as well as the decaying ruins scattered across the horizon. It looked as though it were out of a fairy tale. It was completely alien. The laws of physics seemed to apply at intermittent intervals, almost as though there was an external force or being orchestrating the world. Corrin almost expected to see waterfalls going up instead of down. Even the plants were an oddity. The trees were all petrified and leafless save for small green buds of the snake like vines that crawled up the branches. Similarly the vines could be seen hanging from the bottom of the islands scattered across the sky. The grass was constantly moving as well, even though the wind had been dead since their arrival. Besides the plant life, there was nothing else; not a single animal prowled the underbrush nor did any birds sing among the heavens.

 _Alright. I think I've had quite enough of this. There's too many questions, too many unknowns. As much as I want to trust Lilith, she's acting… odd. Not, 'I have no idea where I am odd,' no this is 'terror odd.' It's almost like she knows what's after us. Almost like she's been here before…_ The prince thought, his eyes narrowing. Something else didn't make sense either. _Where did Lilith even come from? She wasn't with me at the Bottomless Canyon, was she? The last thing I remember before waking up here was Hans' betrayal and my eye feeling like it was on fire. Nothing adds up- I need answers._ Finally he pulled his arm free of his servant's grip. The effect was immediate; Lilith turned on him with a desperation that shocked the prince.

"Corrin!? What are you doing? Do you want to die?!"

Corrin sighed, and as calmly as he could manage implored his frustrated servant, "Lilith, I told you. I need to know what's going on."

"What part of 'we have no time', don't you understand?"

"See, that's the problem! I don't understand. Now, considering that A, we are not being chased as far as I can tell, and B, there is a plethora of hiding places here, I think we can manage a quick conversation."

"We are being chased. The fact that they haven't found us yet is all the more reason to keep moving!"

"And you know this how?"

"Ugh!" Lilith said, stamping her foot in frustration. "If it will get you to quiet down, then by all means let's go! But milord, you have to promise that after I'm done you will stop wasting time."

"Fine by me."

"Alright, then. There's a ruin over there, milord. We should be able to hide there. Now, if you would… Lets. Go."

The two teenagers sprinted for the ruin, Lilith glancing at the sky behind them as they did. Soon they reached the crumbling structure. At one time it might have been a tower, but time had ravaged it to the point that now there was nothing left but the foundation and a portion of the first floor wall. The remaining bricks of the ground floor walls were positioned to block view from the path they had been running on until now. Needless to say, the tower was not what Corrin would have called 'defensively viable', but it would serve their purposes.

Lilith looked around at the surrounding grey stones, seemingly not very satisfied. Eventually however, after pacing for a bit and muttering to herself, she seemed to accept it and sat down with her back to the wall. Obviously still quite nervous, she got right to the point none the less. "Alright, Lord Corrin, what do you want to know? Again, I need to remind you, we are pressed for time."

Corrin smirked in spite of himself, crossing his arms over his chest as he tried to keep his temper in check. "You know, Lilith that is actually the perfect place to start! Just what is chasing us?"

"Not the worst place to start, I suppose. We're being chased by the beings that call this world home."

"That tells me nothing, Lilith."

"You're… right. It might be best to start as to where we are instead. Now that might come as a shock but we are in a parallel world."

"A what?" Corrin asked confused.

"Umm, think of it like this; every book you read has its own world right? Well it's kind of like we traveled from one book, Nohr, to another book, here. They're connected in that they are both books, but separate in that they have their own settings and rules."

Corrin nodded. "I suppose that makes sense. But does that mean we're trapped here? How do we get back to our world? And for that matter, how did we even get here?"

"We got here by falling down the Bottomless Canyon, or have you already forgotten what happened there?"

Corrin looked away from his servant and glanced up at the blue skies above. "How could I forget? But you're telling me that we fell here from the Canyon?"

"That's right."

Corrin sighed in exasperation before turning back to the blue and red haired girl. "Fine, I suppose I'll have to believe you for now. Anyways, if this is another world-"

"You're taking this rather well." Lilith interrupted, noticeably confused." I have to admit I thought you'd take a lot more convincing."

"Besides the fact that we are literally surrounded by proof? I mean those islands are flying, Lilith. That's not exactly normal by any Nohrian standards. Also, I'm not sure why, but I have to admit it just feels like it makes sense."

"Alright. Well, good. That saves us time, I suppose. Anyways, I'm not sure how we can leave here myself. See, we weren't actually supposed to come here."

"I kind of figured. I'd rather I didn't fall down that canyon either."

"No, not that. I mean that I tried to stop us from going here after you fell." Lilith explained. "After you fell, I jumped in after you."

"Lilith!" Corrin responded, suddenly concerned. "I'm touched, seriously I am. And I promise when we get back to the Northern Fortress you'll get employee of the century, but just what exactly did you think that you could do?"

"Umm, Corrin… remember that bird you saved all those years ago?"

"The weird red and blue one? Yes, I remember, its wing was broken. It was kind of cute though."

Lilith blushed. "I umm, Corrin… That bird? That was me."

"… What?"

"Yes Corrin, that bird wasn't actually a bird." Lilith replied, sighing. "It was a young dragon."

Corrin glanced one more at his servant. She was fiddling with her hands, clearly uncomfortable and for some reason she absolutely refused to meet his gaze. It wasn't the body language of someone lying, it was more akin to that of a naughty child caught mid prank. "So let me make sure I'm getting all this right. Not only did I get sent into a parallel world by falling down a canyon, but my stable girl is actually a dragon that I helped care for as a child."

"Yes milord. I'm afraid that sounds about right."

"Wonderful." Corrin said, sitting down exasperated. "Just wonderful. Any idea when you were planning on telling me that you were actually a dragon?"

"I was kind of hoping to avoid that particular conversation."

"I thought that might be the case. Now as much I would love to continue to talk about how my servant is a lizard, I think we should probably get back on topic."

"Right, I was actually getting to that. Part of my being a dragon-"

"By the way, if you're a dragon, why do you look like a teenage girl?"

"LATER milord. Anyways, as I was saying, part of my being a dragon is that I can travel between worlds."

Corrin sat down next to Lilith, trying to wrap his head around what was going on. "Alright. In that case why are we trapped here? Couldn't you just bring us back to Nohr?"

"That's what I tried to do in the canyon. But when I tried to teleport us… Something happened."

"Something happened?"

"Ya, there was an explosion of light and I was blasted against the side of the canyon."

"Well that certainly doesn't sound like it was supposed to happen."

"Jokes milord?"

"Sorry, I'm just having a little trouble with this. So for some reason you couldn't teleport me across words? But then how did we get to this world? Did that light not affect the canyon portal?"

Lilith put her head in her hands. "I don't know, okay! It doesn't make any sense. The process for crossing worlds should be the same! I must've just been too weak. This is all my fault."

"Lilith…" Corrin put a hand on her shoulder. She was clearly blaming herself for what had happened. It was odd. He never had seen her like this before. Even when she had been sad back at the Northern Fortress, Lilith had always tried to keep it hidden from him. For her to let him see her in a state like this… "I promise we'll figure this out. But first we need to get out of here. Speaking of which, you never did mention just what this place was called."

"Lord Corrin… Th-thank you, milord. You're right. I suppose some questions can wait until later." Lilith got up, wiping away a stray tear as she did. Wiping the dust off of her white apron, she put on a brave face and turned back to her master. "By the way, I'm afraid I can't tell you what this place is called."

"I'm almost afraid to ask…"

"This world is cursed. If you mention it outside of this place you disappear into a shower of bubbles. There is no cure, no way to prevent it. You name this world back in our home and you die. No exceptions."

Corrin met Lilith's gaze with a glare of disdain. "That is completely idiotic."

Lilith sighed. "Be that as it may, it's still the truth. And this way we don't have to worry about you saying it in your sleep. Please, milord try to understand. This world has its own rules, and just like the flying islands you have seen with your own eyes this curse is real."

"I suppose that makes sense." Corrin grumbled. He picked himself up and began to stretch. "So do you have any ideas for getting out of here?"

Lilith looked up to the sky with a contemplative look. "There might be a way… Since falling into the canyon worked, I think we might need a way back like that."

"Lilith, I really don't won't to go jumping off random cliffs."

"No milord, that's not what I meant." Lilith replied, rolling her eyes. "I mean that we need a natural portal between worlds as opposed to a man-made portal like my power. Something like the canyon. And I think I might just have a way."

"Really? Alright then, it sounds like we have a plan of action." Corrin smiled. For the first time since they had arrived it sounded like they had a way out. Even if it might not have be the best chance, they would be able to make it. He could feel it. "What are we going to do?"

"Jump in a lake."

Corrin deadpanned at her in disbelief before rolling his eyes and smiling. "Of course. That would be the solution. Well I guess we should get moving."

"Wait, before that… I need to talk to you about the people who live in this world." Lilith looked very uncomfortable. Corrin's instincts told him he wasn't going to like whatever he was about to hear.

Lilith took a deep breath before continuing, her expression somber. "Long ago this world was one of life. That is… That is no longer the case."

"Lilith, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that this world is dead. No matter what you see, no matter who you see. Please remember that everyone in this world exists to serve this world's god and nothing else."

"This world's god." Corrin repeated in a distracted fashion. Something about the way Lilith had said that was off. There was an awe to the words, but there was also regret. He was still missing information. Just what did Lilith know? And what was that about the dead? Surely that was just a figure of speech describing the lack of wildlife.

Lilith's voice brought him back to reality. "Alright, milord. We'll need to get moving, please follow me."

As Lilith got up and dusted off her apron, Corrin thought over the information he had just become privy to. It was certainly a lot to take in. Parallel worlds, a really convenient curse, his stable girl being a dragon, the list went on and on. Some of it still didn't make sense though. Of course the main problem was that explosion of light Lilith had spoken of. Why couldn't she teleport him out of this world like she thought she could. That wasn't the only problem though. How did Lilith know so much about this world? Corrin assumed it had something to do with her dragon heritage, but he knew better than to ask. She would tell him when it mattered.

"So, Lord Corrin, we will have to be careful to remain hidden. Remember what I said about the people of this world."

"Right, watch out for zombies and ignore everything they say. Have I mentioned how little sense that makes?"

Lilith winced. "That's… one way to put it. Just trust me when I tell you that we need to be careful."

"Oh don't tell me, is there another curse or something? Oh wait, let me guess- that god you mentioned will rise up and smite us where we stand!"

Lilith started to walk away in the direction they originally been running.

"Seriously? You have got to be kidding me." Corrin grumbled as he followed after his red and blue haired stable girl.

* * *

Several hours later Corrin and Lilith stopped for a break next to one of the petrified trees. The two sat down next to it on a couple of rocks that might have been part of a castle or fortress at some point in the distant past. Looking around Corrin remarked on just how lucky they had been so far.

The trip had been strangely uneventful. A few times, Corrin could have sworn that he saw what appeared to be Pegasus knights flying in the distance but nothing had ever come of it. Besides that, there had been an eerie lack of life. If what Lilith had said about the inhabitants was true that would certainly explain the absence. In reality all they had seen was more of the same in regards to the landscape.

As they had traveled, Lilith had explained that the different bodies of water in this world lead to different corresponding lakes and ponds back in their world. For this world, the water acted as a primal tether between this world and their home. What that said about the connection between the two worlds was up to interpretation, but Corrin had an inkling that there was something more to it than that. Whatever that might be wasn't important right now; what was important was that these portals could get the duo back to Nohr. Thankfully, Lilith knew of one that would lead directly back to the Northern Fortress. Unfortunately, that pond was quite a distance away. Of course they could have just jumped in any random puddle and hoped for the best, but that might be bad for their health.

"How much longer until we reach the pond?"

Lilith stopped looking at the horizon and turned back to Corrin. "Probably around six more hours if we keep up our current pace."

"That doesn't sound too bad." Corrin replied, nodding. "By the way, where are we going to spend the night?"

"The night? Oh don't worry about that, Lord Corrin. The sun rarely sets here."

"Huh, why is that?"

"The ruler of this world doesn't let it. The darkness only serves to help enable rebel activity."

Corrin was about to ask just what she meant by that when he heard something to his right. Signaling for Lilith to be quiet, Corrin slowly got up and moved towards where he had heard the sound. Lilith followed close behind, making sure not to cause any excess noise that might give away their position. The two eventually came upon a clearing filled with what appeared to be people. There were two groups, one of approximately twenty people holding weapons, and two kneeling on the ground surrounded by the prior. As Corrin stared he noticed something odd, the first group seemed to be surrounded by a sort of light purple haze, very similar in nature to that of the Ganglari. That wasn't the only thing similar though, as Corrin recognized the two people in the middle of the group. They were the ninja and oni savage he had fought in Windmire.

"Lilith, what the heck is going on here?" Corrin whispered. "Those two were killed by Iago back in the capitol. How are they here now?" And what is that other group anyway? It looks like a patchwork of both Nohrian and Hoshidan troops."

"I don't know Corrin, but we need to leave now." Lilith responded haggardly. She was clearly distressed by what she saw and Corrin could make a guess as to why. "Wait, Corrin you can see them? How is that-"

"Wait, Lilith, something's happening."

As the two had been talking one of the figures from the first group had split away and walked up to the two captives. From what he could he see, it appeared to be a woman with shoulder length, pale blue hair. She was wearing a black cape with blue and gold markings along with an ebon headdress with an accompanying black feather. If he had been forced to describe the outfit he would have called it regal. In fact it was quite similar to the garb worn by the Nohrian royal family. Upon reaching the two prisoners she seemed to taunt them before gesturing to the rest of her troops. As she turned Corrin could see that her eyes were a striking gold.

"Corrin, it's too late for them. Let's go."

"Isn't there anything we can do? You said you were a dragon! Can't you breathe fire or something?"

"The most I can do is small blasts of magic from my hands and minor healing! That won't help us fight twenty soldiers!"

"Lilith… If it was Iago who sent them here instead of killing them then it's my fault that they're here. I can't just leave them again!

"Corrin, you can't- Oh no."

Corrin looked in the direction she was staring in time to see the blue haired woman place a hand on the white haired oni savage. As she did a purple light began to emanate from the point of contact, starting at the blue haired woman's hand and spreading across the prisoner's body until she was completely covered. Upon completion the light began to grow in intensity, eventually becoming a variant star on the field. In a couple seconds after the process had begun it was over, leaving the body of the unfortunate white haired woman kneeling and limp.

Corrin clenched his fist. "They killed her. Why! She was defenseless. Why the heck would they… what the?!"

Mid rant the woman who, a second ago, Corrin would have sworn was dead lurched forward. As she did, the same purple aura surrounding her captors began to emit from her body as well. She then stumbled to her feet in the same manor one would expect from a marionette. The blue haired woman put a hand on her shoulders and snapped her fingers. One of her servants came forward and handed their newly formed servant a club and then the two took their places by her side.

Corrin could barely keep his emotions in check. There was an abstract horror to this situation the likes of which he had never imagined. "Lilith if we don't do something they're going to do the same thing to that ninja!"

"Corrin we can't save him!"

"I have to try!" Corrin spat. Running out of his hiding place and towards the blue haired woman. As he went he reached for his sword- only to find that Ganglari was gone. _DAMN I forgot that I dropped it when I fell into the Bottomless Canyon. Well, I suppose there's only one thing to do…_

Corrin balled his right hand into a fist as the woman finally noticed his presence and turned to face him. Upon seeing him, a flicker of surprise went through her eyes as Corrin hurled his punch directly at her face- only for it to bounce off an invisible shield that had appeared out of the air, reflecting the blow back at the surprised prince and knocking him toward the surprised green haired ninja.

Glaring up at his foes, Corrin's eyes narrowed. _She can reflect physical attacks?! I've never seen anything like that before. We are in big trouble…_

"Oh my, do we have another volunteer for the great Anankos's army?" The blue haired woman gloated. "Wait, you're that prince from Nohr! This is wonderful! We've been looking all over for you." She took a step forward along with the rest of her men and the white haired woman. "If you could just wait a moment, we'll be all done with this ninja and we can properly offer you our… hospitality."

"I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage. You know who I am, but I have no idea who you are."

"Does it really matter, child? You won't be needing such information where you're going."

"On the contrary," Corrin replied, smirking. "I'd hate to leave you with a blank tombstone."

The woman chuckled to herself and raised her right hand, clearly about to give the order to attack the prince. "Such arrogance. We'll be sure to fix that. For the moment, please relax little prince. I promise this will be over quickly."

Her gloating was interrupted as Lilith emerged from the brush behind the enemy, launching a blast of blue light at the soldiers closest to her. As they were launched backwards she sprinted through the gap, taking her place next to Corrin and the green haired ninja. "Milord, are you alright?"

"A little banged up but still breathing. Thanks for the help, Lilith."

The woman standing in front of him raised an eyebrow. "Lilith? Oh my goodness… You've returned to us at last. And once more you betray your master, how pathetic. After so much time I'd have sworn you'd have learned your place"

"Arete, a pity I have to look at you again. Still licking Anankos's boots I presume?"

"Some of us know our roles in this world, traitor." Arete responded, her smile growing. "Though I have the oddest feeling that you and your white haired prince will understand what that means soon enough…"

Lilith looked down at her allies and helped Corrin to his feet. "Lord Corrin, please tell me you had a plan before jumping into the mess."

"Well, not going to lie, most of them involved me having the sword which I dropped back at the Bottomless Canyon."

Corrin might have hit her for the look that appeared on Lilith's face. "… So you have nothing?"

Corrin looked around, trying desperately to come up with something, anything. Things didn't look good. Even if he did manage to disarm one or two of the enemy soldiers, even if the ninja and Lilith both got weapons and helped him, their odds were just not realistic. Their only hope would be to somehow escape. But how would they get out? There were too many. Corrin looked behind him and noticed something that had escaped him before. The soldiers behind him were standing at the edge of what looked like a cliff. It was probably the edge of the island they had been on this whole time. If he could find a way to knock them off… Wait. There was it.

"Lilith. When I give the signal, I need you to do what you tried to do back at the Bottomless Canyon."

Realization dawned in eyes. "Corrin, last time I tried that I was-"

"Don't worry about that, I'll make sure to carry you if anything goes wrong."

"I don't suppose we have much of a choice." Lilith shrugged and then smiled at her boss. "I trust you Lord Corrin, just tell me when."

"I'm honored to hear you say that Lilith… Umm, ninja person. I know you have no reason to trust me but-"

The green haired ninja raised a hand to cut him off while getting to his feet. "We can save that conversation for later. For now let's just concentrate on getting out of here."

"Glad to hear it, now if you and Lilith will stand in front of me, there we go."

"Are you quite done? All insubordination must be wiped out, and my lord is not a patient god." Arete leered at them.

"Funny, I've never been that patient either." Corrin shrugged before smiling at his would-be captor. "Could never find the appeal in sitting around twiddling my thumbs. Might as well get this over with, eh, Arete was it? Well I suppose you were right about one thing… you're name doesn't matter- Lilith now!"

As he shouted the order Lilith reached back and placed her hand on Corrin's chest, attempting to bring the two of them into the Astral Realms. As she did, once more the point of contact erupted with a golden light, the force of which blasted away everything in the surrounding area. The ninja and Lilith were launched forward while all of the enemy troops were thrown around like leaves in the wind. The majority of them were hurled off of the cliff behind them, falling for what could be eternity. When Corrin's eyes had finally recovered from the blast he quickly found where his two allies had landed and sprinted towards an unconscious Lilith.

As he ran, he saw the green haired ninja drag himself to his feet and look around, identifying them and beginning to follow after them.

Upon reaching the blue and red haired stable girl, Corrin quickly checked to make sure she was still breathing. Upon realizing that she was indeed still alive, the second prince of Nohr allowed himself a small sigh of relief.

"Nohrian Prince, we need to go now!"

Looking up Corrin realized that the ninja was right. The remaining enemy soldiers had gotten to their feet and were fast approaching, weapons in hand. Arete looked particularly murderous, a tome already in her hand with a spell soon to follow.

"Couldn't agree more." Corrin replied, throwing an unconscious Lilith onto his shoulders and beginning to run away from the enemy soldiers, the green ninja at his side. "Not trying tell you what to do, given our past and all I wouldn't dream of it, but if you happen to have any ninja smoke bombs or the like now would be the time to use them!"

Nodding, the Hoshidan reached under his shirt and grabbed three small, black capsules. Motioning for Corrin to follow him, the man threw them at his feet summoning a black cloud.

Immediately, Arete summoned a spell to blow away the smoke, but whereas before there wouldn't have been enough time for the ninja to break the encirclement and escape before the smoke was dispersed, this time their targets had already broken through. By the time the Arete could see once again, her targets had disappeared.

* * *

The group ran, slowly putting distance between themselves and their pursuers. They had immediately made for the more wooded area so that the skeletal trees could provide some cover. After about an hour of dogged pursuit their enemies had appeared to give up on them. Taking advantage of the brief respite, the three had hidden in an out of the way cave.

Laying Lilith down on the cave floor, Corrin slumped down against the wall and let out a sigh of relief. "That was close. But it seems that we finally lost them."

The ninja nodded. "Yes. It would appear so. Will she be alright?"

"I think so. She's a lot tougher than she looks. A lot more stubborn too. By the way, I don't think we've been properly introduced. I'm Corrin, second prince of Nohr."

"Prince Corrin, you say?" The ninja looked away, clearly thinking about something before turning back. "I am Kaze, ninja to the Hoshidan royal family. It is an honor to meet you second prince of Nohr."

"It's a pleasure Kaze. And please, just call me Corrin."

Kaze smiled. "Of course. You have my gratitude, Corrin. You didn't have to give yourself away to rescue me."

"That's not true. The way I see it, I'm kind of the reason you're here."

"That's… not wrong." The ninja replied as an uneasy silence filled the cave.

"Speaking of which," Corrin started, breaking the silence. "I'm sorry I couldn't save your friend."

"You mean Rinkah? I appreciate your concern but now's not the time to deal with that."

"I agree, but-"

Kaze held up a hand. "Please, Corrin. There will be a time to grieve for my fallen companions. But that time will come once we reach safety."

"Ever the professional, huh?"

"If there ever was time, I would think now would be it." Kaze replied, chuckling.

More silence, but less awkward this time than before. Eventually the ninja broke it. "I don't blame you, you know."

Corrin looked at him in surprise. Out of the things that he could have said, he was not expecting that. "Not that I'm not thankful for that but I have to ask; why not?"

"Back at Windmire, you refused to kill us, even after your father ordered you to. It takes a certain strength to do the right thing. Also, you came back. I'm alive now because of you after all."

Corrin nodded and looked back to Lilith who had begun to stir. "We're not out of this yet. We still have to get back to our world."

"Our world? I know this place is… odd, but what do you mean by 'our world'?"

Corrin quickly explained to Kaze what Lilith had described to him before. He took it reasonably well, remaining silent and patiently waiting for Corrin to finish before confirming their plan.

"So now we just need to find the right lake to get back home?"

"That's the plan."

"That was the old plan. We might need a new one." Lilith said, finally awake and pushing herself onto her elbows, grunting in pain as she did so.

"Lilith! Thank goodness you're awake. Take it easy; how do you feel?"

"I'm fine milord. Did I miss much?"

"We've lost them for now. We were just discussing our next plan of attack."

Lilith nodded and began to look around the cave they were currently in. After nodding once again and appearing to recognize where they were she replied. "About that… We have a slight problem with our plan."

Corrin groaned. "I really don't want to ask but, what is it?"

Lilith shrugged and began to talk slowly. "The fact of the matter is that the ninja…"

"Kaze."

"The ninja Kaze can't use the portal we were planning on using. It only works for very specific people, and he just isn't one of them. There's no way we could get him through it."

"Damn." Corrin muttered, getting to his feet and beginning to pace. "Well that certainly complicates things."

"Prince Corrin, please leave me-"

"No. Not going to happen."

"But Corrin, if you and Lilith can escape-"

"As I said, we are NOT leaving you." Corrin barked before turning back to Lilith. "Hypothetically it would be best for us to get out of here as soon as possible, right?"

"Well, yes milord. But what do you mean?"

"I'm saying I'd rather take my chances with a random lake portal than wait for that blue haired harpy to come back with reinforcements."

Kaze nodded. "I agree. But that still doesn't solve the problem at hand."

"Lilith, I'm the only one you can't teleport right?"

Lilith nodded. "Yes, or at least I think so. Ahh, I get it. You want me to get Kaze out while you take the lake portal, right?"

"Exactly. All we have to do is get to the closest body of water. From there Lilith will open the portal in the lake before taking Kaze back to our world through the Astral Realms. I'll meet both of you on the other side."

"It makes sense," the ninja admitted, "but how will we meet up on the other side? Can Lilith sense where you are?"

"Hmm… If I partially go through the portal myself, when I teleport us back into our world I should appear where the portal exits. In theory it could work."

"Then we have our plan. Lilith, you wouldn't happen to know where the nearest lake is, would you?"

"As a matter of fact, if this is the cave I think it is, there's one about a twenty minutes' walk from here."

The prince smiled. "Then let's head out. I've had enough of this dump for a lifetime."

* * *

"So this is it right?"

The group was standing in front of what appeared to be a shallow pond. There were pale reeds poking up from the edges. Like the grass they were blowing in the nonexistent wind. The pond itself was odd as instead of a sandy bottom there was cobblestone. In fact it appeared that the pond had once been a bath or a reservoir of some sort.

"That's right milord. Now, if you'll just give me a moment."

Lilith walked into the water and began to pray. As she did Corrin considered their journey so far. They had managed to elude their would-be captors on the way to the pond. That being said, Corrin could make out multiple Pegasus knights in the distance, no doubt looking for them. But that wouldn't matter in five minutes.

"Alright, we're all set. The portal is open."

Looking back at his servant, Corrin noticed that she was now half as tall as usual. At first he thought that she was kneeling before making out a faint sapphire glow from the water. She was already partially through the portal per their plan.

"Alright milord, you go through first and Kaze and I will follow you shortly."

"Right." Corrin replied, smiling. "See you guys on the other side!"

* * *

As the sun set a lone woman stood at the edge of a long dock. As she stared out over a small pond with her blue hair blowing lightly in the wind, she brought her clasped hands to her chest and began to sing to herself.

 _You are the ocean's gray waves, destined to seek_

 _Life beyond the shore just out of reach_

 _Yet the waters ever_ \- What the?!

As she had been singing, the water in front of her had violently erupted and a figure had been thrown out of the water and onto the dock in front of her. Startled she had tripped over her dress and fallen backwards onto the dock. Still surprised by the sudden appearance of the intruder, her first reaction was to call for the royal guard or to run away from whatever it was. After a few terrifying seconds, she heard coughing come from it. Pushing herself onto her knees, the princess continued to watch until, sensing that it wasn't a threat, moved towards the figure, curious to see what it was. Upon closer examination the thing was revealed to be a man with white hair and pointed ears. He was wearing grey armor with navy blue clothing underneath and seemed to lack shoes for some reason.

 _He must've come from Valla! But, he doesn't look like one of Anankos's slaves… Who is this?_

Concerned, the princess leaned forward towards the man. "Excuse me, but are you alright?"

* * *

 _Ow my head hurts._ Corrin thought as he tried to put himself back together. The trip through the portal had been a little rougher than he had anticipated. The landing had also been unexpected; not to mention unwanted. As he coughed up a few mouthfuls of water he could hear what sounded like a woman's voice from in front of him. Mustering his strength and finally looking up, Corrin found himself face to face with a beautiful woman with pale blue hair and striking golden eyes.

 _CRAP! Arete! She must have taken another portal to head us off!_ Corrin thought, his chest clenching up in terror.

Desperate, Corrin did the only thing he could think of and curled his right hand into a fist.

* * *

Holding onto Lilith, Kaze looked around in amazement as the two of them traveled through the Astral Realms. It was surreal. In fact it was almost like they were floating through the night sky. Small spirals littered the horizon and Lilith had made a point to tell him that each of those was independent universes. In the distance a huge mass of spirals and stars were suspended in a sea of red energy that seemed to ebb and flow based on a will of its own. Kaze had never seen anything quite like it and doubted he ever would again.

"Alright Kaze, we're about to enter back into your world. Please prepare to hold your breath!"

"Understood Lady Lilith."

"L-lady Lilith? That's not necessary Kaze. I'm- I'm just a servant after all…"

"Umm, _Miss_ Lilith, is that not our stop up ahead?"

"What? Oh right, hold on and take a deep breath!"

The two exited the interdimensional realm and found themselves two meters under water. Seeing light from above, the two began to swim towards the surface, their tired bodies pushing against the weight of the water and their clothes.

Bursting out of the water, the two gasped for air before looking around for their white haired friend. Kaze turned around and saw two figures on what looked like a long dock.

 _Wait, I recognize this place. This is the pond near the Hoshidan palace, which would make the figure on the dock the Lady- Is that Corrin? What is he- Oh no._

As Kaze shouted towards the panicked prince that the woman in front of him was in fact not Arete, he realized that his warning was a millisecond too late and watched helplessly as Corrin's fist connected with the princess's face.

* * *

 **Author's Note-**

 **We are officially in Hoshido! I hope you all have been enjoying the show so far, I know I have enjoyed writing it! This one turned out a little longer than I had originally intended but I wanted to make sure that the conversation between Lilith and Corrin ran its course as naturally as possible.**

 **Demons Anarchy of Pride- I hope the trip to Valla was satsifying! We WILL be going back eventually but not for a while I'd say...**

 **vampireharry the 2- Thanks! I hope this one satisfied as well!**

 **Next Time- Corrin discovers the nation of Hoshido as well as just what punching a princess entails.**


	5. Chapter 4: The Captive Prince

The differences between the kingdoms of Nohr and Hoshido were as numerous as the stars in the sky, but perhaps there was none quite so obvious as how the two countries dealt with violent crimes. In Nohr, an instance of assault against a member of the royal family would have resulted in six months of torture followed by a very slow, very painful execution. In Hoshido, well as far as Corrin could tell it apparently involved being locked in a cell and being subsequently assaulted by a myriad of downright terrible jokes.

"Did you hear how the judge escaped from the jail cell?" Corrin's purple haired torturer asked from the outside of the cell, trying not to laugh as she did. "He had it disbarred!"

Corrin resisted the urge to slam his head into the wall for the fifth time as the woman began to laugh uncontrollably. It had been over three days since his unfortunate… 'incident' with the blue haired woman. As it turned out, she was a princess of Nohr's primary enemy, the country of Hoshido. After that unfortunate mix up, Corrin and Lilith had tried to escape while Kaze had rushed to the fallen princess's aid. The two nohrians were two fish out of water and they hadn't gotten very far before being captured by the Hoshidan royal guard.

 _And now I'm trapped here_. Corrin fumed. _And even worse, their keeping Lilith in a completely separate location from me. If they've touched a hair on her head… I'll… I'll-_

"You'll what? Break through the bars?" His jailer taunted. "Or will you pick the lock and then search the castle for her? Cause running around flailing worked SO well for you last time."

She laughed again as Corrin froze up and gagged on his response. "You needn't act so surprised. Orochi is a fortune teller by trade after all. It's part of my job to read people."

"That is quite the trick." Corrin mumbled, annoyed. "Would you mind turning the bars into fruit while you're at it? I am getting a little sick of the stale bread you keep giving me."

"Oh come on! There's no need to be like that. In fact, if you want…" Orochi pulled out a pile of pieces of paper and placed them on the table next to her. Turning to get a better look, Corrin realized that they were a deck of cards, the edges crinkled from repeated use. As she pushed the table in between her and the cell she began to explain. "These are tarot cards that a very close friend of mine painted for me. By using them, I have the ability to view your future. Would you care to try?"

"Tarot cards? Never heard of them, I'm afraid. Why not? Not like I have anything else to do here."

"Good answer, now please, come closer. Now a tarot deck traditionally has twenty two cards in it numbered from zero through twenty one. Each of these cards has a different meaning, and someone's future can be described depending on how they are drawn."

Corrin moved to the edge of the cell and watched as the woman in front of him began to shuffle the cards and place the deck face down on the table. When she was done, she sat back and smiled at her subject. "Well, are you ready to see your future? I promise, it'll be fun."

Corrin nodded and watched as she drew a card and placed it face down on the table. "Now, since you've never done this before, I'm going to try something a little different. Not that you'll know the difference, but instead of doing a normal reading I'm going to draw three cards, one for your past." She drew another card and placed it on the table. "One for your present." She drew a final card and placed it next to the other two. "And one for your future."

Orochi smiled. "I think it works better this way, after all I know next to nothing about you! This seems like a great way to get to know each other, right? Oh won't this be fun!"

Corrin nodded before a thought crossed his mind, inspiring a smirk. "Not entirely true… Are you sure you won't let you're bias seep in, oh mighty fortune teller?"

"Oh come on! Just what do you take me for? I'm a professional, and professionals don't let a client's past impact their reading. Even if they assaulted a princess... Anyways, here we go! And the first card is-" Orochi flashed one last smile as she flipped the first of the three cards. "The World." The card on the table was bleak and foreboding. It was a dark amalgamation of miscellaneous colors and looked like something out of a particularly vivid nightmare.

The purple haired fortune teller leaned back in her chair and looked the prince in the eye. "Do you know what that means?"

"Well if I had to guess-"

"It means you are in a world of hurt!" Orochi choked out amidst a flurry of laughter. Prompting Corrin to once again consider the pros and cons of self-flagellation. "But seriously, this is quite interesting. The world is commonly interpreted as the end of the path one walks through life. It can symbolize either a joyous end or brand new beginning. For it to be in your past is quite odd, wouldn't you say?"

Not waiting for Corrin's response, the Hoshidan moved onto the next card, clearly getting a little carried away with her own curiosity. "Now, for your present we have, oh I hope it's something embarrassing don't you? And it is… Death!"

The silence that followed was almost tactile. Corrin looked at the woman sitting in front of him stunned. Orochi managed to hold his gaze for a good five seconds before waving him down. "Oh don't give me that look, it's not what it sounds like. The death arcana doesn't just represent physical death. It can also represent the death of a part of you, or say, an interest or a major relationship."

"That would be significantly more reassuring if I wasn't being held in a prison cell."

"Fair enough, but please rest assured; if we were going to execute you for assaulting the Princess Azura we would have done it already!"

"Hate to break this to you, but I've heard better attempts at emotional support from Iago. Tell me, have you ever met my father's chief advisor? He's about as kind and thoughtful as an angry wyvern."

"Oh calm down! It's only your present fortune anyways. If you're going to freak out at least wait until we get to your future." She reached over and held her hand over the last card. "Speaking of which, let's see what we've got." Turning over the card so only she could see it, Orochi frowned. "Hmm, interesting."

 _Don't bite at the bait. Don't bite at the bait. Ugh, fine._ "What do you mean?"

"Your last card is the tower… Now that means turmoil or destruction. Look at it like a test or something like that, only instead of a pencil and paper it has weapons and death."

"Well that sounds perfect to me. I mean, I'm a prince of a nation that could go to war at any moment, why is that at all unusual?"

"Well, tell me: If you had to put these three cards in order, what would you do?"

Corrin looked at the cards. Each of them was quite haunting. Dark colors and disconcerting imagery was plastered across all three of them. In all honesty, Corrin wasn't even sure how each card was supposed to represent what Orochi said they did. The death card lacked any sort of skull or bones. The world had absolutely no landscape or planet on them. There wasn't anything that looked like a tower on anything. In fact Corrin could barely tell the cards apart from each other. But Orochi did make an interesting point about the order of the cards. For one, the past fortune didn't make any sense. If the world was supposed to represent a new beginning or the end of a journey how did that apply to him? Maybe it meant him leaving the Northern Fortress? Or was it him being sent on a mission by his father?

"I suppose it would make more sense for the order to be tower, death, then world but that wouldn't really apply to my life either."

"Are you sure? You can't think of any way that applies to you?" Orochi pressed, a tinge of nervousness in her voice.

 _Wait. Why is she being so pushy? I thought fortune tellers were supposed to bluff their way through this kind of thing. If anything it seems like she's trying to get me to explain the cards. Now why would she do that? Hmm, I can think of three possible explanations. One, she's trying to manipulate me to some end. Possibly an attempt to placate me? No, no. I'm already in a jail cell. She holds almost all the cards. Ugh, thought-pun. Two, she wants information about my life. Probably the most likely scenario all things considered. I'm an enemy commander after all. Strategically, she probably thinks I have knowledge that would benefit in a fight against Nohr. I do not have said knowledge… Stupid Northern Fortress. Third, I'm overanalyzing this. For some reason I doubt that. Now, how to figure out which option is the right one?_

Corrin looked away from Orochi and scanned the wall on the opposite side of door eventually setting his eyes on the window. Pretending to be deep in thought he allowed the silence to mature for a moment before replying. "Now that I think about it; if the order was tower, world, death it would make a lot more sense."

"Oh? That is weird. Maybe it's the new type of reading I tried that mixed it up." Orochi leaned back and smiled, adding a wink as well. "If it's not too much to ask, why do you think that order is best? Not much else we can talk about is there?"

 _Not very subtle are you?_ Corrin thought, smirking internally. _Well that certainly answers that question. This whole set up was just to try and fish for information. In that case it doesn't really matter if the cards are random or not, her interpretation isn't important, she wants to know what I think._ Turning back to his captor, the prince met her gaze and showed a small smile. _Well, who am I to say no to a lady? Let the fun begin._

* * *

"Alright. So what are we going to do?"

The queen of Hoshido let out a sigh as she resisted the urge to drum a hole through the arm of her chair. It had been an extremely long and monotonous morning and if this meeting continued to go on in this fashion then her ebon hair would be all grey by nightfall. "Yukimura, we've been over this. I want them released. Both the prince and his servant."

"And we will, milady. But we also can't afford to let this situation go to waste! At the very least allow us to send an envoy to Windmire. A prince of Nohr has assaulted a member of our royal family! This could be the perfect opportunity to muster public opinion against the enemy while simultaneously forcing Nohr to the negotiating table."

"If we do that there will be a public outcry and we will be forced to execute the prisoners. I will not sacrifice their lives to further our own agenda."

"Garon has taken every opportunity to further his agenda." A red haired ninja standing to the right of the bespectacled man added. "If we can impress upon him the severity of the situation, we might be able to force his hand. And what is more serious than the life of his son?"

"We are not Garon, nor are we Nohr, and as long as I am Queen we will never become them." Mikoto snapped, shutting the ninja up and forcing Yukimura to look away.

"Mother, I have to disagree. At the very least we have to show this scum that this crime is unacceptable."

Mikoto glanced over to her son, but it was another voice that spoke up. "Brother, you would kill over an accident? You cannot possibly mean that."

The grey haired prince of Hoshido became flustered at that, his cheeks flaring red before turning on the blue haired princess with a vengeance. "Shut up! I told you never to call me that! And besides why do you care? He's the one who punched you after all, if anything I'd have thought you would be grateful to me for wanting to-"

"Takumi, Azura, enough." Mikoto ordered. "Yukimura, my decision still stands. Please place Saizo and Kagero on standby until Ryoma, Hinoka, and Sakura return from their battle with the faceless. I'm going to speak with the prisoners personally. Azura, do you remember who was on guard duty today?"

"Kaze was attending Lilith while Orochi was watching Prince Corrin. If it's alright, Queen Mikoto, might I come with you? I'd like to speak to the Prince."

Mikoto smiled. "Of course dear, but remember the rule about what you can and cannot speak of. The consequences are unfortunately severe and unbreakably rigid."

"O-of course, my queen."

"In that case, how about you go talk to him and I'll meet up with the serving girl before joining you at the cell." Mikoto sighed. "Also, make sure to keep Orochi in check when you get there. She mentioned some hair brained interrogation scheme and you know how she gets when she's excited."

"Mother," Takumi said, despondent. "You can't really think this Nohrian filth is…"

"I don't know Takumi. I won't know until I see him in person, but from the description I've received... That's an issue for later. Now everyone, dismissed. Azura lets go."

* * *

"Hello your grace."

Mikoto smiled at the green haired ninja guarding the door in front of her. "Kaze, it has been quite some time, hasn't it? How is your recovery from your imprisonment proceeding?"

"Very well, my queen. In fact, I trained with my brother yesterday. It was very enjoyable, or at least it was until he told me it was to make sure I wasn't a Nohrian in disguise."

"How horrible! I assume you passed his test?"

"I wouldn't be standing here if I hadn't. But please don't blame him, his vigilance is why he is so good at his job." Kaze's demeanor shifted aw worry began to spread across his face. "By the way, I know it's not my place, your grace, but the two prisoners… I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for them. They're good people."

"Kaze-"

"The girl Lilith especially. I've been speaking with her for the past few days. She's just a stable girl. She's not a spy or anything like that."

"Kaze I'm-"

"I admit, she does have some rather, unusual abilities. But she can't help that she was born that way."

Kaze was cut off when the queen placed a hand on his shoulder. "Kaze, I promise you; I am not here to execute Lilith, or Corrin for that matter. I'm just here to speak with her. Please don't worry so much."

The ninja visibly relaxed. "I apologize my queen. It was out of line for me to speak to you like that. It's just we've been through a lot and I do owe them my life."

"That's not the only thing that has you confused, is it?"

Mikoto watched as Kaze's body language shifted yet again. Now he looked like a cornered Pegasus, nervous, pent up, and desperate. The queen wasn't surprised. There was only one way that the three of them could have entered the royal gardens without being found. Somehow the three of them had travelled through Valla… And by the way Corrin had reacted to Azura it was obvious who they had met while in that hell-scape. But not only that they had they survived, they had escaped. Somehow, three teenagers had managed to get away from the most terrifying force Mikoto had ever seen. Not that she could talk to the ninja about it; the curse was ever present after all. But she might be able to get a better grasp on the situation by talking to the other two escapees. After all Corrin was her… No. Now was not the time to think about that.

"It's alright. Now please, I'd like to speak with her for myself."

"O-of course your grace."

Kaze stepped aside and Mikoto made her entrance into the room that was serving as Lilith's cell. It was by no means what normally came to mind when one heard the words 'jail cell.' In fact, it was almost regal in its luxury. The floors were covered with a crimson silk rug and an ivory matt in the corner served as a bed. There was a table and cushions in one of the corners designed to entertain guests while a shelf for scrolls stood on the adjacent wall. The only indication this was in fact, a jail cell, were the bars that adorned the windows. As the queen of Hoshido looked around she found the red and blue haired captive kneeling at the table reading a scroll. As she approached, Lilith looked up and became visibly uneasy.

"Lady Mikoto…"

"Lilith, it's a pleasure to finally see you again… I've wanted to speak to you for a very long time."

* * *

Azura was confused. The prospect of meeting someone who had been to her homeland excited her more than anything she had ever experienced. The curse had done an incredible job in isolating her to the point that she didn't have many, or rather any, friends. The closest were her siblings and even then Ryoma was always so stiff and Takumi was, well Takumi. Needless to say the opportunity to change that situation did appeal to her, however; their meeting could have gone smoother.

Azura lifted a hand to where Corrin had hit her three days prior. There had been a desperation to his strike that she knew all too well. Thankfully, Queen Mikoto had been more than happy to heal the injury, and now there wasn't even a bruise to prove that it had ever existed. The physical blow wasn't the issue though. It was the psychological rift that had Azura worried.

 _From what Kaze shouted and his reaction itself I know they must have met Arete. Will this prince be able to look past my appearance when we speak, or will I always be the face of a tormentor to him? I know what it's like to come into contact with that monster, I couldn't blame him for thinking that way. A_ zura thought. _Yet they managed to escape. That shouldn't even be possible. I myself have only watched from a distance, I've never actively fought her. Only two groups have done that before now and of those one knew her personally and the other group had a four on one advantage._

Azura continued to walk down the hall, ignoring the traditional wooden architecture that made up the palace. Due to Hoshido's usual sunny weather, there was a surplus of windows adorning the walls. Though, as she approached the wing of the palace that contained the prisoner, the space between windows grew more and more while the space between guards grew less and less. Eventually she arrived upon her destination. Taking a deep breath and steeling herself for the encounter, the princess had already prepared a statement for when she met the enemy prince.

 _Alright, I'll turn around this corner, look him straight in the eye and say, "Hello, Prince of Nohr. It does me good to see you once again." He'll probably try and apologize for striking me the other day… I know! I'll smile a little and offer to forgive him if he will meet me again at the lake later. I'll make sure Kaze is assigned to guard duty so we can use the lake portal without suspicion. That way we can go back to Valla and I can get my answers. Chief among them how he was able to get Kaze through the water portal, that shouldn't be possible._

Finally arriving at the final turn before Corrin's cell, Azura swung around the corner, ready to put her plan into action- only to find Orochi on the ground, laughing uncontrollably while Corrin was sitting on the floor of his cell chuckling. Looking up as she approached, the Nohrian tried his best to compose himself but just ended up looking embarrassed and sheepish before recognition flashed across his face and caused him to look more than a little uncomfortable. Looking back at the queen's handmaiden and resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Azura merely stared at her for a couple of seconds before lightly poking Orochi with her foot.

"HAHAHA, haha, Oh? Who is it?" Orochi asked, wiping a tear away from her eye as she slowly got back up to her feet. "My lady Azura, I apologize for the, eh, state that you find us in. Corrin was regaling me with stories from his home."

"And this left you like… this? Azura replied while glancing at the recovering prince. He had finally finished pulling himself together and met her gaze with two calm ruby eyes.

"I was telling Orochi about the system I have in place in regards to my older half-sister." Corrin explained. "My older sister is, well, a little odd. I love her to death, but sometimes she is a little over the top, especially when it comes to me."

"I-I'm sure. Anyway, Orochi, Mikoto mentioned you came here for a purpose?"

"Yes, about that…" Orochi replied sheepishly. "It turns out neither of us are as clever as we think we are."

Azura looked back at the captive prince for some explanation but found that his cheeks had begun to turn the same color as his eyes.

"Um, well you see- I kind of caught on to the whole interrogation thing. So I thought it would be smart to try and feed her some false information, but…"

"BUT!" Orochi interrupted, smirking. "The kid isn't half the liar he thinks he is and I figured it out pretty quickly. So I started playing along-"

"And I figured out she was playing along-"

"And before we knew it we were making up stories about how our parents were giant dragons or something just as crazy." Orochi finished with a smile. "After that we kind of just agreed to relax and talk normally with each other."

"Thank goodness too. I was running out of garbage to peddle." Corrin returned with a smirk.

Azura didn't know how to respond. This kind of conversation was far beyond her experience with social interaction. The only people she had ever talked to for any length of time had been her immediate family or her caretakers, and they had never been like this. Taking a deep breath to collect her thoughts, the princess responded. "I'm glad you two have been getting along so well. I just wanted to ensure that your stay in Hoshido was not entirely uncomfortable."

"I mean, I'm in a jail cell but I suppose it isn't so bad." Corrin droned. "That being said, the food needs some work."

"Well I'll be glad to have them send you something a little more colorful then. I assume you like Pegasus feed right?"

"Thanks for that Orochi. Now you didn't come all the way here to ask how I was doing, did you? Because if so, you are a much better person than me. Uh, can I help you?"

Azura had walked up to the cell door and was now staring down at the captive prince with two emotionless gold eyes. _He can't actually be that stupid, can he? He's got to have at least some questions for me._ "Orochi, could you leave us for a minute? I'd like to talk him privately."

"Hmm? Of course, milady. Don't hurt him too badly!" Orochi said, picking up her tarot cards before bowing and making a swift exit. After watching her leave the blue haired princess looked back to Corrin. Through all this the white haired prince had been watching her closely, his body language now far more rigid.

"You seem uncomfortable." She observed. "Is something wrong?"

Corrin looked up at her his eyes far more narrow than they were before. "What do you want?"

"What?!"

"I mean I punched you in the face. Normally that entails an execution right? Or at least that's what happens where I'm from. I can only assume you're keeping me around for some reason. That's why Orochi was talking to me right? So what is it? What do you want?"

"Prince Corrin, I don't intend to hurt you."

"Well if you're thinking of asking for ransom I hate to break it to you but my father's advisor will never let that happen. He's kind of a tool."

"I'm not asking for money either. In fact I don't blame you for hitting me."

Two crimson eyes met two golden ones and understanding flashed between the two. Crossing his arms across his chest, Corrin leaned back and looked up at the ceiling.

"Do you know why I punched you?"

"…"

Corrin sighed. "I'll take that as a yes. And that means you know why we can't talk about it, right?"

"Yes."

"Right, so what are we going to do?" Corrin responded, getting frustrated. "I mean I'd ask how you know what you do, but I doubt you could talk about it."

"You're not wrong."

"How do you even handle that? Doesn't it eat you up inside?"

"More than you could imagine." Azura replied, sitting down in Orochi's chair. Resting her head on her hands, the blue haired princess continued. "But I'm used to it by now. Eventually dodging the issue becomes second nature."

"You can't be serious. How long has it been like that for you?"

"Most of my life. It's been over twelve years now. I was six at the time."

"I don't suppose it gets any easier?"

"You get used to it, I guess, though I've never been one for talking about myself so I don't know how you'll handle it. I'm sorry."

A long silence followed. While Corrin looked down at his hands Azura watched him, thinking to herself. By now the sun had begun to set and the vibrant reds and yellows in the sky contrasted with the long shadows paved on the floor by the bars. As the princess watched the sun set she finally broke the silence. "If you'd like, I have a way we might be able to talk about it."

Corrin glanced back at her, confusion marking his face. "How? From what Lilith, I mean my stable girl, said, any attempts to talk about 'it' will result in, well, you know…"

"She's right, if we were to talk about it we would have to do it there." Azura offered in a barely audible whisper. Now would be the defining moment, she would have to go all in. "If you were to meet me at the lake you came from then…" She ended, slowly trailing off.

Relief appeared on her face as understanding dawned on Corrin's. "You can't be serious. We barely made it here in one piece. And besides" Corrin said, laughing to himself. "I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I can't exactly leave anytime soon."

"Corrin, tell me, why are you in here?"

"Umm, because I punched you in the face? Also, very sorry about that. Kind of sad how I haven't apologized yet…" Corrin replied sheepishly.

"Please don't worry about it. And why did assaulting me get you put in jail?"

"Because you're a prin- oh. Now I feel silly."

Azura smiled. "Exactly. I can get you released soon enough. Then we can meet up at the lake."

"That won't be necessary Azura. Though I never thought you'd be this forward with a man. I guess you are at that age though…"

The blue haired princess bolted to her feet and turned in the direction of the voice to find the kind face of the Hoshidan queen smiling back at her with Orochi stifling a laugh at her side. Then, as just what the queen had said sunk in, the princess's face turned crimson as she began to stutter uncontrollably desperately trying to fix the situation.

Resting a hand on her shoulder, Mikoto waited patiently for Azura to calm down and regain her composure. "Sorry, dear. I didn't mean to embarrass you. I'm just glad you managed to make a friend."

"To be fair Azura, you should be used to her sense of humor by now." Orochi added.

"I- No you are right, of course." Azura responded, her face still holding slight shades of pink. "I'm still not sure what you're getting at by 'at that age' though. I mean Hinoka's two years older than I and she's never-"

"Azura! Later, I mean we wouldn't want to give our guest any bad first impressions of your sister." The queen interrupted, suddenly flustered. It was at this point Azura realized that the queen was very nervous. On top of that it seemed she was looking everywhere but at the prisoner. Glancing quickly at the prince, Azura found that Corrin was watching the queen warily. Occasionally his eyes would flash to Orochi or to Azura herself but they always ended back on the ebon haired queen.

Finally, taking a deep breath, the queen faced the white haired prisoner. Looking him in the eyes before slowly removing a key she had been holding in her sleeve and unlocking the door. Stepping back, the queen watched as Corrin slowly got to his feet but did not exit the cell.

"Is something wrong?" Mikoto asked, frowning. "I'm sorry we've held you for so long… But it took some time to make sure that the palace would be safe for you. Nohr and Hoshido are not in the best place right now and I wasn't sure how the people would react to you."

"It's not that, though that does come as a bit of a shock that you care that much about my wellbeing. No, I'm more confused as to why you're letting me out without any guards nearby. Why do you trust me so much?"

"That's because…" The queen started, her voice quivering and her hands tightly grasped together. In addition her face had gone pale and all levity had been drained from her persona. She seemed so nervous, and Azura had never in her life seen her like this. Noticing her reaction, Corrin's suspicion quickly turned to concern.

"Are you alright? Look I'm sorry for not trusting you. It's just I've been kind of under house arrest for the last twelve years to prevent this exact type of thing from happening." Corrin said. "As far as potential captors go though, you're certainly much kinder than anything I imagined. Its fine, you don't need to answer my question."

"No." Mikoto responded before lifting a hand to wipe a tear from her eye. "I'm sorry I've just waited so long for this day. Ever since they took you twelve years ago."

Corrin's eyes narrowed into slits of red. "What do you mean they took me?"

Mikoto gave up on holding back the tears and smiled at the confused prince standing in front of her. "Corrin, I want to keep you safe because… you're my son."

* * *

 **Author's Note-**

 **Thank you for reading! As usual if you have any advice, criticisms, or even predictions please by all means leave a review. I'll do my best to get back to you as long as there are no spoilers involved.**

 **Demons Anarchy of Pride- Very true! But I'm not apologizing. Besides, I think she took it pretty well all things considered.**

 **vampireharry the 2- Thanks! I hope you enjoyed this one as well!**

 **Next time- We meet the Hoshidan siblings and see a very boring white chair.**

 **(All characters places belong to their respective owners)**


	6. Chapter 5: An Empty White Throne

"Announcing the return of Ryoma, high prince of Hoshido."

"Announcing the return of Hinoka, first princess of Hoshido."

"Announcing the return of Sakura, second princess of Hoshido."

 _Second princess?_ Corrin considered. _Odd. By the looks of it, I'd say she's close age wise to Elise. At the very least she has to be younger than Azura. But if that's the case, why is she higher up on the order of succession?_ Corrin stole a glance at the blue haired princess standing to his right. Though she was obviously trying to hide it, he could tell she was happy to see her siblings. Looking back at the newly returned royals, Corrin tried once again to get a handle on what was already the weirdest week of his life.

It had been four days since Mikoto dropped her bomb on the young prince and he still wasn't quite too sure what to think. If it was a ploy, it was either the stupidest one Corrin had ever heard of or it was completely brilliant. Of course there had been little in the line of concrete evidence to back up her claim, but considering how he had been brought up in Nohr that made sense. In fact, if it was true it would certainly explain a lot of the paranoia. And the house arrest. The only problem was his amnesia, which conveniently covered the period he would have lived with his mother and 'real' family. Try as he might, Corrin still couldn't remember anything more than a few shades of dusk and a couple of shadowy figures.

Since his release, Corrin had begun to explore the palace and the surrounding gardens. As far as he could tell, instead of the dark stone and gothic ornamentation that defined Nohrian architecture, the palace was constructed mostly from wood. It also seemed to have a much more open feel to it. He guessed that this was probably due to a surplus of wood that mirrored Nohr's own of stone but without actively surveying the countryside he had no way to prove it. It also differed in the general feel. In Nohr everything had been functional. Even the magnificent palaces and mansions he had seen in Windmire were all perfectly designed to assist in defending the city from attack. Everything was either to hurt or intimidate. Meanwhile Hoshido had seemed to embrace itself more culturally. Though the architecture was large and expansive, it was more ornate than military. From what he could see the palace itself lacked any noticeable defenses such as a moat or magic turret. Instead there were smaller deterrents such as ballistae and odd puppet like structures.

Following him at every turn on his tours had been his ever loyal servant. Lilith had seemed even more ecstatic at his release than he had been. After the queen had moved him into what she had told him was once his room, Lilith had demanded to sleep in any of the adjacent quarters. After half an hour of trying to convince her that Corrin would be safe, Mikoto finally gave in and arranged for Lilith to sleep in the room two doors down. Since then, the two had managed to sneak in a few uninterrupted conversations but in reality they hadn't managed to discuss as much as Corrin wished they could have. The curse was also ever present, stopping Corrin from asking any of the more important questions. And there were still far too many of those, chief among them the reasons for Lilith's steadfast loyalty. There had to be a reason beyond gratitude that drove her, and he suspected it might have something to do with her knowing Arete.

He had also grown used to the continued presence of the green haired ninja Kaze. During his expeditions around the castle grounds, Kaze had acted as the prince's guide. He had done his best to not only show him the most interesting and beautiful aspects of the castle but had also taken up the role of bodyguard to the prince. A huge blessing, as Corrin quickly discovered. Though Azura, the queen, and her immediate suburtinants had been kind and warm to him, the rest of the palace gave off a chill that at times even bordered on hostility. It was clear that he and Lilith were outsiders and the castle staff seemed to have no intention of making them feel otherwise. Heck, even the second prince had made his opinion on the matter abundantly clear during their initial meeting.

* * *

"Do not make the mistake of thinking that I like you, or even that I trust you." Takumi spat. "As far as I'm concerned, my brother died twelve years ago. You're nothing but a Nohrian puppet wearing his face."

"Takumi, you really oughtn't to be so hard on him." Azura supplied, trying to act as mediator. "He is your brother after all. If you'd just give him a chance-"

"Azura, will you shut up! I'm already at my breaking point and I don't need any more of your usual garbage."

"Garbage?! Stop being such a child. You wanted to execute him after he brought Kaze back alive. You're letting your personal prejudices impede your judgment."

"From his story, he's the reason why Kaze was ever in any danger. Besides, I wanted to execute him for punching you in the face! If anything you should be thanking me, not taking his side!"

Azura rolled her eyes. "And I told you brother that I didn't care about that."

"Don't EVER call me that! You know, maybe if you stopped acting so smug and started acting like a proper Hoshidan, you might actually have some friends!"

"Urgh, you are such a child!" Azura replied stamping her foot in frustration and storming off in the opposite direction. As she left, Corrin thought he saw the faint glistening of tears on her cheeks.

"Takumi," Corrin began warily, "I get that you don't like me. Hell, I'd probably be the same way if our positions were reversed, but please try to be nice to Azura. There's more to her than you know."

"Look right here." Takumi began threateningly. "I have had enough of Nohrians, adopted or not. Every time, I see you, I see a reminder of my father's murder. The only reason you are still breathing is because mother said so. If I were you I would know my place."

At that the Hoshidan prince turned and left abruptly, leaving Corrin and Lilith alone. Turning to talk to Lilith, Corrin noted something rather interesting.

"Umm, Lilith, why is your hand glowing?"

Looking embarrassed for a moment, Lilith quickly tried to hide her hand behind her back.

"Lilith…"

"Sorry milord. It's just he was being so disrespectful… and I thought that maybe if he took a bit of a nap he might wake up in a better mood."

"You were going to blast him?! Lilith, we already assaulted one member of the royal family, I don't think we could survive attacking another."

You're probably right milord. I'm sorry; I was out of line." Lilith looked down sullenly before adding under her breath. "But if he tries anything I make no promises…"

Corrin shook his head, trying not to smile. "I swear you can be half as bad as Camilla sometimes. Still, it's oddly reassuring to know you've got my back. Come on, let's go find Azura. It's almost time for dinner and I'll be damned if she has to eat alone after THAT display."

* * *

 _And now there are three more siblings for me to meet. Hopefully these three are little more understanding than Takumi. They'll probably hate me just like him. Heck, what am I even supposed to say? "Hi I'm your long lost brother. I was raised by your worst enemy and have no idea who you are. The only reason I'm here is that I punched your adopted sister. Nice to meet you!" Damn, on second thought maybe I should have had Lilith knock ME out before the ceremony started._

Corrin's thoughts were interrupted by a flurry of movement in front of him followed swiftly by a red headed woman resting a trembling hand onto each of his shoulders. Looking up he found two teary brown eyes staring into his own.

"Is- Is it really you, Corrin? After all of these years… have you finally come back home?"

"B-big sister. Who is that? I-I've never seen him before…"

The first woman continued, ignoring her sister while tears started flowing from her eyes. "I always knew you would. I've been training! Ever since that day. I wanted to bring you home safely so we could be a family again. And, and know, here you are. You're finally here, and I- I…"

The first princess continued to stare into Corrin's eyes. Sighing and breaking her gaze Corrin replied. "I don't know. If you're asking if I'm the brother you once had all I can say is that I have no memory of it."

He might well have punched her. Seeing the look of heartbreak quickly spreading across her face as she recoiled Corrin hastily continued. "That's not to say it's impossible. I have no memory of my childhood. Particularly I don't have any recollection of anything before I turned six, and even that year is mostly hazy. I suppose it's possible that I am your brother, but if I'm being completely honest I'm still trying to figure what's going on myself." Corrin forced a smile. "Besides, it's been twelve years right? Even if I did remember we'd still be very different people now. For the present, would you like to start from square one?"

"I- I guess that for now that will have to be enough." Hinoka replied with disappointment before smiling at the prince through her tears and holding out her hand. "But if we're going to start over let's do it right. It's nice to meet you, Corrin. I am Hinoka, first princess of Hoshido."

"Hello Princess Hinoka. I am Corrin. And as far as I know I am the second prince of Nohr." Corrin replied, grasping her hand and shaking.

"Second prince of Nohr?" A voice from beyond Hinoka inquired. Turning, Corrin found himself face to face with the high prince Ryoma himself. "So not only did he kidnap you, but he lied to you? Adopted you?! How abhorant."

Ryoma continued. "You know, I recently came back from retaking a fortress on our border. It was supposedly taken over by a prince of Nohr and his subordinates. He only held it for half an hour or so, but it still necessitated my involvement. He was gone by the time I arrived though. You wouldn't happen to know about that would you?"

The high prince gave nothing away; Corrin couldn't read anything from his features. If this was a test, then it was one that he would have to figure out on his own. In the end he decided it would be best to just go with the truth. Even if it was paramount to confessing treason directly to the Hoshidan crown, there was little chance Corrin would be able to keep up such a charade, especially when he had already told Mikoto, Azura, and Kaze that he and Lilith had disappeared at the Bottomless Canyon.

"As a matter of fact that was me. I had received orders from King Garon to retake the fortress you mentioned." Corrin sighed and held up his hands in exasperation. "Though as you said we were only able to hold the fortress for a short time. When your reinforcements began to arrive we took our leave. On our way back there was some… unexpected complications." Corrin grimaced at the memory of Hans. "And here we are. I would love to go into further detail about just how I got here, but I'm afraid you'll just have to take my word when I say that that's impossible."

The samurai refrained from breaking eye contact. The white haired prince's pulse began to rise as the exchange refused to end, that was until a certain princess came to his rescue.

"Ryoma, is this really the first impression you want to make on your baby brother? You do know he doesn't remember a thing? After all, unlike the rest of us, he's not familiar with how you say hello." Azura added teasingly.

"Sister, I didn't meant to- I mean I was just trying to-" Ryoma stuttered, his stern façade falling apart. "As happy as I am that he's returned, we can't afford to just throw away all reason. And what is this about him losing his memory?"

"It's as she said, I have absolutely no memory farther back than twelve years. Ever since I can remember I've been brought up as a Nohrian Prince."

"That's- That's terrible." Hinoka choked out, clearly horrified.

Corrin shrugged. "Not particularly. I mean sure I was basically under house arrest, but I had a roof over my head and food on my plate. Heck my servants were basically my best friends and my siblings were always sure to visit often."

"And they were… kind?" Azura asked, a trace of unease in her voice.

"Of course. My fondest memories are from when they visited. Heck, even when Leo was lecturing me or Camilla was chasing after me I was still having fun."

"You miss them, don't you?"

"I'd be lying if I said that I didn't." Corrin replied, glancing back at Hinoka. "But right now, I'm sure that they'd want me to keep moving forward. Besides, it's been a week. They're probably worried, but I like to think they have at least enough faith in me to know that I'm still alive and kicking."

"Not a bad answer." Ryoma replied, a smile finally beginning to take shape on his face. "We only ask because we've heard some pretty horrific tales about the Nohrian courts. Anyways, as long as you're alright I guess it doesn't matter. So you were the one who took that border fortress. Why did you even attack that old wreck, you must have known you couldn't hold it."

"If it was up to me we wouldn't have. One of my solders disobeyed orders and attacked. Turns out he was real scum through and through; when we tried to retreat later on he went full traitor and killed an old friend of mine."

"I'm sorry to hear that. If I'd been a couple minutes faster perhaps I could have captured you and saved your friend."

"You're that confident in your abilities samurai?"

Ryoma chuckled. "Why is it that all of my younger brothers have an attitude problem? Maybe tomorrow we'll fix that on the practice field. But where are our manners? There's still someone here we have to introduce yourself to."

The last member of the Hoshidan royal family timidly approached the group. She had pink hair and was wearing a white priestess's uniform, complete with what Corrin assumed was Hoshido's variety of a staff that looked oddly familiar for some reason. _You know, I swear I've seen that staff somewhere before. Actually, I'm getting a lot of déjà vu right now. Was it while we were in Valla? No, that's not it. Wait… That dream I had back at the Northern Fortress. The people that were in it, they were-_

"He-Hello. M-my name is Sakura. It- It's a pleasure to meet you."

Corrin nodded as the princess bowed in greeting, still stunned from the realization he had just made. "Umm, It's, uh nice to meet you. My name is Corrin." _What does this even mean? Was the dream some sort of premonition? That's ridiculous! But then how did that dream even manage to get their clothing right? Damn, what the heck is going on here?!_

* * *

"Iago, you are late. Must I remind you that I do not like being kept waiting?"

"My apologies, my king I was absorbed in my work." The chief advisor replied, bowing his head so that king would not see his smirk. Today had been more fortuitous than would be best to let on. After all, someday soon the king would outlive his usefulness. And when that day came, the element of surprise would be preferable.

"Now, how may I be of service? Has Hans fallen into trouble on his return trip?"

"He checked back in this morning. No, this is in regards to the previous intersession of fate into one of my plans. I have reports that Corrin has resurfaced. In the Hoshidan capitol, no less."

"He- he has? Well that is fantastic, is it not? The plan is back on schedule!"

The King's eyes narrowed. "Iago, is something troubling you?"

"Troubling me, sire? No of course not. I live to serve."

"Are you sure? There was a time when you would have discovered this information before even I had heard it. And now here you are, days behind. I must say, I'm disappointed."

Horror was beginning to spread through Iago's body. This was very bad. If the King decided he was no longer useful he would be discarded and it was far too early in the plan for that to happen. Of course he couldn't explain why he had grown lax in his duties. Even if the king did believe him, he would be executed for heresy of the highest degree, or worse, be sent to face Ananko's judgment in Valla. He needed to somehow turn this around and regain the king's trust. "Sire, please, I beg you. Give me another chance."

"Another chance? But of course Iago, that is why you are here after all. To help repair that which has broken."

"Broken sire? But is the prince not where you require him to be?"

The king's fingers began to drum the arm of his throne in impatience. "Fool. Yes he is where we want him, but he is without the Ganglari. By falling into the chasm without it we have been deprived of the most vital piece of the puzzle. Without the Ganglari, our nameless allies cannot penetrate that Hoshidan witch's accursed barrier. And that brings me to you, Iago."

"My king?"

"You ask for a second chance? Well I grant you that. You are Nohr's most powerful mage. You have ascended your magic past the point where a tome is even required. If there is any that can break through that barrier, then it would be you."

Relief began to seep back into Iago's figure, slowly at first but then far more rapidly as he realized just what the king was asking. This wasn't a chance. This was a lifeline. And not only that, it was also the perfect opportunity to finally make the first move.

Smiling, he raised his head to look back up at the king. It was about time to finally observe what his work had been leading to. It was time for the game to begin.

"My king, I cannot remove the barrier. It is of a type of magic that is as old and as mysterious as the first dragons themselves. Only one of their direct bloodline can pierce it, and only then with the exact knowledge of how to do so, knowledge that I unfortunately lack."

Iago held up a hand as the king began to rise. "But that is an unnecessary complication as I do not need to break the barrier." The smile grew on the advisor's face until it was all encompassing. "After all, I have a soldier who can circumvent it and travel directly to the Hoshidan capitol. And it is a soldier the likes of which you have never seen."

* * *

Corrin sighed. Things were not going as planned. Under normal circumstances he supposed he would probably be enjoying himself. Talking to three foreign princesses at once was probably a common fantasy for an eighteen year old young man. The problem was that dream. He just couldn't shake the feeling that there was an importance to it. Not to mention that if the dream was any indication, war between Nohr and Hoshido was not only inevitable but also fast approaching. Though, if the white haired prince could get a handle on just what that dream meant, or why he had had it, he might just be able to prevent it.

The best idea that he could come up with was that the dream was a memory from some other world. He knew they existed, after all he had been to one. Maybe it was possible then that there were other versions of himself as well and he had received the memory from one of them. Since Lilith was the resident expert on other worlds, what with her ability to travel in between them, Corrin had originally planned on talking to her about it.

 _That was the plan anyway. Instead it would appear that I'm entertaining guests._ Corrin sighed. _Not that that's a bad thing! I just-_

"B-big brother?" Sakura asked, interrupting his thoughts. "Are you alright, you've had this far off look in your eyes all night."

"Hmm, now that you mention it Sakura, you're right." Hinoka added. "Corrin are you alright? Do you want to talk about it?"

"It's, well, I'm not really sure I can talk about it to be honest. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it Corrin. We will always be here if you need to talk about anything. Just promise me that come the right time and place you'll tell us everything so we can help you."

"Thank you Azura, I promise I will." Corrin replied. _I appreciate the save, but I'm afraid I wasn't thinking about Valla this time, Azura. Still, you have my thanks for the deflection and if Lilith doesn't have the answers I need then you're next up on the question list._

"I know! Corrin, Sakura was only a baby when you were taken and Azura was still in Nohr. Why don't you tell us about your life while you were away?"

"Alright Hinoka, I'd be happy to- wait. Azura, why were you in Nohr?"

Hinoka looked at Azura, confusion etched onto her face. "You didn't tell him? But you said that you two had hung out this past week?"

"Well… yes we have, I just haven't gotten around to it yet..."

"Azura is something wrong? You look really uncomfortable right now."

"Corrin, it's nothing really. I just didn't really have a chance to tell you yet, though I suppose now is as good a time as any. Similarly to how you were a Hoshidan prince raised as Nohrian royalty I am a Nohrian princess raised by Hoshidan royalty."

Corrin stared at the blue haired princess. Noticing his look she started to get flustered, traces of pink seeping onto her cheeks while also refusing to meet his gaze. _Well that explains the confusion regarding the Hoshidan line of succession. Azura is a princess in name only. In actuality she is more akin to a hostage._

Seeming to sense what he was thinking, Azura quickly added. "I'm actually quite grateful, really. My time in Nohr was terrible, more like a nightmare than actual life. I much prefer my life here." The princess smiled. "Though I'm not a princess of Hoshido by birth, I've always felt like a real member of their family! Surely you must feel something similar in regards to your Nohrian siblings?"

"Of course I do. I'd give my life for them." Corrin replied. _Azura still looks quite uncomfortable. It might be best to table this for now. Though, I'm curious as to why Hoshido took her. Was it just in retaliation? That seems awfully petty. Perhaps Hoshido's not quite as honorable as I've been led to believe._ "Anyways, you were asking about my time in Nohr, right? I have just the story. This one is about my younger brother Leo."

Lilith, who until now had been content to watch, suddenly began to blush. "Milord, you can't seriously be about to tell THAT story. You told Jacob and me never to talk about it!"

"While that may be true. I think we can trust the present company. Right?"

The three princess nodded while Lilith continued to stare incredulously at Corrin. "Oh come on Lilith! It wasn't even that bad!"

"Umm, maybe it would be best if you didn't tell. I mean if it's going to bother Miss Lilith…"

"Sakura, trust me. There's nothing to worry about. All we did was cast a simple little charm on my brother's collar. See, my brother was always perfect in every way, and as a result sometimes he came off as a little pompous. So, a couple of my servants and I found a spell that would switch the direction of his collar five minutes after he put it on to get back at him. It was a joke!"

"It was… until Corrin started teasing him about it at every available opportunity." Lilith mumbled.

"Hey, that was half the fun. He also wouldn't have noticed otherwise... Besides, Jacob and I made sure to burn all the evidence; even if he did suspect something, he would never be able to prove it."

"I hate to interrupt, but do you mind if I steal Corrin for a second?"

The group looked up to find the warm face of the Hoshidan queen smiling at them from the doorway. "By the way dear: If your brother is the genius I hear he is, then he's probably learned by now how to follow a spell's residue to the caster. If he ever checks that collar of his for traces he'll be hot on your trail."

Corrin shrugged. "That's fine, Jacob was the one to cast the spell anyway. If he follows it he'll go straight to him and Jacob would die before giving us up."

"Oh? That's a little heartless, don't you think?" Azura asked with a raised eye.

"No, you don't understand. Jacob isn't really a people person, but he is damn good at his job. If Leo tried to get back at him, more likely than not Jacob would, well… Lilith?"

"Coffee burns and poisoned cakes."

"Coffee burns and poisoned cakes." Corrin repeated nodding.

Mikoto chuckled. "Sounds like you have a capable butler. I hope he isn't on his way here right now. Anyways there was something I wanted to talk to you about. Would you mind?"

"Not at all." Corrin replied, getting up. "Sorry everyone, I'll be back soon. If you have any more questions, I'm sure Lilith would absolutely LOVE to tell you the whole story. Especially the part about how she ran interference on Leo's retainers…"

Leaving a very flustered Lilith to entertain the three Hoshidan princesses, Corrin and Queen Mikoto made their way to Hoshidan throne room in silence. It wasn't that Corrin disliked the queen, quite the opposite; he thought she was very kind. The problem was that he still didn't really know what to make of the claim she had made. He'd never had a mother before, only a father that lived in a separate city. He didn't know how to cope or even how to act.

"Corrin…"

"Um, yes? I mean, yes your grace?"

The queen chuckled. "You could just call me mom."

"I, I don't really I-" A flustered Corrin replied before managing to collect himself. "What I'm trying to say is that I'm not really sure I'm comfortable with that yet. I'm sorry, but until we find a way to get my memories back I don't think I going to be able to call you that." Corrin looked away in shame. "I know that must hurt more than I can possibly imagine. But to me, you're just a stranger."

"I- I know, Corrin. That's why I brought you here after all." Mikoto gestured towards the end of the room. Standing on an elevated area of flooring stood a magnificent white thrown, resplendent in both its simplicity and its purity. "It is said that the first Hoshidan Ruler received this throne as a gift from the Dawn Dragon himself. And as the dawn banishes away the terrors of the night, so does this throne banish and any and all enchantments. Lies perish before its light."

Corrin stared at the throne. If what she was saying was true, sitting on it might break any sort of enchantments placed on him, which might in turn return his lost memories. But what if she was lying? Was this some sort of attempt to brainwash him or implant false memories? _No. If she was going to do that, she would have done it while I was trapped in a cell. But still, is this what I want? If it really is true that father, no, that King Garon placed a spell on me to make me forget who I was, then sitting on that throne will destroy any chances I have of going back to my family in Nohr._

Corrin looked at Mikoto. He could see the desperation in her eyes. They were pleading with him. Could he really reject her? And if so, what if she was telling the truth? Could he live a lie?

"If I sit on that throne, there's no going back, is there?"

"No."

"And I will keep any memories I've made during my time in Nohr?"

"Yes. Any true memories will remain. You will not lose who you are."

Corrin smirked. "Then there's nothing for me to worry about." And with one last look at the hopeful face of a woman who might very well be his mother, Corrin sat down on the throne.

At first it seemed that nothing was happening. Corrin was trying to hide his disappointment when the world around him began to shift. It was almost like a fog had filled the room, obscuring the prince's view and hiding the queen completely.

Eventually the fog began to clear, and when it did Corrin was no longer in the Hoshidan throne room. Instead he found himself low to the ground on a cobblestone street. A figure who appeared similar to Ryoma stood in front of him. He had the high prince's long brown hair, but wore a different, more regal outfit. He also seemed slightly taller and broader shouldered. His arms were extended, almost as if he were attempting to shield him from something.

"Fire at will." A familiar voice ordered from beyond Corrin's view.

The Nohrian prince tried to get up but found that he couldn't move. Even his eyes were beyond his control. All he could do was watch as a flurry of arrows riddled the figure standing in front of him. Falling to his knees, the man in front of Corrin continued to try and defend the prince even as the blood left his body. Corrin felt his body begin to cry on its own and could even feel the terror that his body, his younger body that is, felt. His modern mind was transfixed though, he didn't recognize the danger; he was too spellbound by the scene unfolding in front of him to notice. And then, out of the shadows, a smirk across his face, came the King of Nohr.

"I'm disappointed Sumeragi. This wasn't even my best trap." Garon taunted before bringing down his ax on the dying figure.

As the Nohrian archers proceeded to carry off the corpse of the fallen samurai, Garon walked toward the baby prince. "You poor thing."

 _Please father, please don't. Don't prove them right. I'm begging you._

"Orphaned at such... A tender young age." The king reached out towards Corrin, his hand a claw closing in on him. "You are my child now."

"Father!" Corrin screamed to no avail. Before the fog once again obscured the world and a new image began to take shape.

This time Corrin was on someone's shoulder, and by the feel of it, the person now carrying him was running. Looking behind him, Corrin was shocked to see the floating islands and waterfalls of Valla, as well as pursuing Vallite solders.

"Don't worry Corrin, we're almost there. Only a little more, just like Daddy said." A familiar voice whispered as they ran.

The pursuing enemies were getting closer and closer to the pair. But right when it appeared that they were going to be taken, he felt the splash of water and the two of them were sucked through the portal to their world. The final thing he felt was Mikoto removing her hand from his mouth and nose as they emerged at Azura's lake before the fog came once more.

As he returned to his own body he could feel tears running down his face. Looking at his mother, Corrin forced a sad smile before attempting to leave the chair. But he found that he could not. His muscles refused to obey him. Instead there was a sound like breaking glass, a flash of light, a scream that Corrin realized was his own, and the fog came once more.

* * *

The Demifiend sank to his knees. The surrounding air still reeked of ozone, a remnant of the beam of light that had torn through Kagatsuchi moments ago. It was finally over. The god responsible for the rebirth of the Vortex world was dead at his feet. But the young fiend's mission was not yet complete, as the golden angle hovering behind him was quick to point out.

" **Son of Man, you must rise once more. You're task is far from over."**

Nodding, the Demifiend climbed to his feet, stumbling as he did, causing Pixie to squeak in concern from on top his shoulder. Patting her affectionately on the head and steadying himself, the Demifiend looked to where the shattered remnants of his enemy lay battered and broken. Even now, the tower was collapsing, and tendrils of energy were leaking out from the corpse as the god prepared for resurrection.

"How much time do we have?"

" **It is difficult to say. I will hold back Kagatsuchi's decay for as long as I can, but it is inevitable. You must reach it before that happens. At most you have a minute.** "

"All the time in the world. Dante, keep Pixie safe for me."

"Gotcha boss."

Putting a hand next to his shoulder, the Demifiend waited as his best friend took a few tired steps onto it. After handing her off to the red coat wearing demon slayer she turned back to him and winked. "Make sure you come back in one piece, okay? It'd really suck for you to win the final battle and then trip at the finish line."

"Come on, you know me better than that. Just tell Ongyo-Ki not to start the party until I get back." The Demifiend replied with a smirk before sprinting towards the fallen god.

The tower was getting more and more unstable by the second and the closer he got to his target the more he realized that Kagatsuchi's power was going haywire. It was a hurricane with bits of stone and metal flying through the air while lightning and fire spewed forth from the ether. Two car sized boulders flew towards him, prompting the Demifiend to summon forth the purple blade of a deadly fury attack and disintegrate them as he kept moving forward. Still racing against the clock, he unleashed a xeros beat to intercept fifty bolts of lightning out of the air before they reached him, followed by two more deadly furies to clear the larger debris out of his way. Eventually coming to the epicenter of the storm, the fiend found a shell of tiny pieces of metal swirling around his target, barring his entrance.

 _Phys Repel- Equip._ The Demifiend thought, still unused to one of his most recent abilities. As his body reconfigured itself to incorporate the desired quality, the Demifiend took a deep breath and pushed through the barrier as though it wasn't even there, his skin reflecting any and all objects that came into contact with it.

Standing less than a meter away was the viscous mass of light that had once been Kagatsuchi. More and more energy was surging forth and the young fiend could tell that without Metatron's power, the world would have already been remade and their plan failed. Gritting his teeth as he was bombarded with a wave of almighty energy that passed through his immunities as though they weren't there, the Demifiend braced himself before thrusting his hand into the mass. An explosion of pain greeted him and the fiend screamed as it threatened to consume him. Steeling himself once again, he closed his hand and grabbing onto a portion of Kagatsuchi's form. With all of the might his demonic form provided him, he pulled.

It felt like trying to remove the titanic by hand from a pit of quicksand, but somehow he managed it. Fierce determination laced with desperation allowed him to rip a portion of the fallen god's essence free from the corpse. Turning on his heels the Demifiend struggled to hold on as the fiery substance threatened to burn through his hand. Raising his arm skyward, he gave one last thought and indulged in one last moment of hesitation. This action would change everything, there would be no turning back. Making up his mind, the young fiend opened his hand, and with the last of the strength he possessed, launched it faster than should have been possible. Like a shooting star, it streaked across the sky and eventually left the confines of the Amala multiverse before exploding in a supernova like fireball. When the light died down it left hundreds of points of lights in the sky.

With no reason left to keep its resurrection at bay, the golden titan released his power as the Demifiend fell to the ground. Moments later the corpse of Kagatsuchi floated rapidly into the air, matter and energy surging forth from it. With a deafening cry, life returned to the fallen god and it begrudgingly began to fulfill the reason that had triumphed over it. In the distance countless demons retreated into the labyrinth of Amala as the newly reincarnated Kagatsuchi resurrected the world destroyed by the conception, collecting the forlorn bits of the Vortex world and reassembling it. With a final, colossal flash of light, the world was brought back into being and took its place in the sky with its countless brothers and sisters in the endless flow of magatsuhi, leaving two figures left in the space between worlds as the thunder of creation descended into an eerie stillness. Approaching the battered fiend, Metatron finally broke the silence.

" **You have succeeded.** "

"Pixie and Dante, are they?"

" **They have taken refuge with the fairy tribe. They are safely awaiting your return.** "

The Demifiend nodded and looked back up at the sky. Pointing to the newly formed pinpricks of light, he asked. "How many?"

" **Nine hundred and seventy three worlds have been ripped from Kagatsuchi's dominion by your hand.** "

"Only that?"

" **You are disappointed? You have performed a miracle that was never supposed to be possible.** "

"It's just so few, less than a thousand even. Compared to the infinite worlds trapped in an endless cycle of death and rebirth what we saved isn't even a single atom."

" **Yet it is enough.** "

"I suppose it is." Smiling sadly the young fiend took another long look at the sky above as silence fell again between them. Finally breaking it, he continued. "So this where we part ways I assume?"

Metatron nodded. " **Even if our goals are quite different, you have still done heaven a great service. However, though you retain your human heart, in the eyes of the lord you are an abomination.** "

"Thanks?You aren't going to kill me now, are you?"

" **No, son of man. I will remain by your side until you recover. To consort with you further might be a sin, but I owe you a debt for your actions in the fifth kalpa. After that we will separate.** "

"Fine by me. I have some things I'd like to do that you probably won't approve of anyway. Don't worry, nothing world shattering, just a human friend I'd like to see again." His smile changed to a smirk. "I guess it really is finally over. Well Lucifer… I'm afraid this is checkmate after all, isn't it?"

The voice of god nodded in approval once more before the fog began to encroach once again, blanketing everything and signaling the end of the memory.

More and more images and sounds flashed through the fog. Coming faster and faster until they were unrecognizable. Only brief snippets of them could be deciphered.

" **I challenge you to a duel.** "

"… **Our friendship dies here. We are adversaries, each upholding our own Reason and contending for creation. As fate would have it, we are both beyond shedding tears.** "

"You're back! We did it! Huh, one other thing?"

"Hijiri? No, please call me Aleph."

"Our will makes our ideals take shape… I call that power equal to the demons."

"I'll have you executed!

" **The arcana is the means by which all is revealed.** "

"I look forward to the successful completion of your mission."

" **Then it is decided. I pity your fate, son of man, but I commend you for your decision. I am proud to help you once again, as I did all those years ago.** "

"SHIN GET OFF THE THRONE!"

* * *

Corrin threw himself off the Hoshidan throne, falling down the stairs before landing face first on the floor. In the last moments before the darkness completely consumed his vision, he saw the crying and concerned face of Mikoto. "Mo-ther…" Corrin choked out before letting oblivion take him.

* * *

 **Author's Note-**

 **Thank you very much for reading! As usual, if you have and questions, critiques, or predictions, please leave a review and I'll try my best to respond. Barring spoilers of course.**

 **Alright, as is pretty obvious Iago is the next character I'm going to be making some noticeable changes to. In the game, I always felt that he served his role as a villain a little too well. He was evil, but you never really got his motivation or why he was loyal. I have something in mind for this that hopefully you guys will enjoy.**

 **Also there were a couple reviews last time concerning what the pairing would be and I just want to have my two cents now. There will eventually be a pairing. That being said, it will be specifically for the purpose of the narrative. (I'm not going to move heaven or hell to make it happen, if it's going to happen, it happens realistically.) One last thing on the pairing- this is a Nocturne crossover... Make of that what you will.**

 **Also, to anyone who can get all of the SMT references (Five different games total) in the totally boring not at all important white chair scene- You get a cookie!**

 **Mzr90- Thank you, that means a lot. I've been trying to make sure that any steps outside the canon feel like natural extensions of the lore. I'm glad that you are enjoying it! More of that to come.**

 **Ikarus Solotov- I hope you enjoyed the sibling reunion! A little more of that next time along with a touch of Kaze and Azura.**

 **vampireharry the 2-Thank you very much, I'm glad you're still enjoying it! If you liked this one, you'll probably like what's in store next time too...**

 **Disclaimer- This is a nonprofit, fan-based work. All characters and settings belong to their respective owners.**

 **PS. I've been playing Tokyo Mirage Sessions recently, and I've got to say I'm pleasantly surprised. True it's not exactly what I was expecting, but it is certainly a unique experience. I definitely recommend it! ALSO, I was playing it, and no spoilers but one of the characters who disappears in the first cut-scene is a singer named Ayaha. I didn't notice it until another character called her Aya, but this could be a huge reference to the first devil survivor game, where if you'll remember there is a singer named Aya who goes missing before the events of that game. Could just be a callback, but upon thinking about it, those two games being connected actually makes a little sense. If this is the same Aya and the games are connected, it explains why Fortuna takes the whole mirage invasion into their own hands instead of calling the military. After the Tokyo quarantine of the first DeSu, there would be a huge disillusionment in government. It would also explain the over abundance of entertainment. I mean after a demon invasion, I'd want something distracting too. Still, I'd love to see even a one shot with this kind of premise. Maybe something like Aya, Haru, and Kiria reconnecting over a cup of coffee. Sorry for droning on, just a neat little easter egg.**

 **Next Time- Corrin's memories are back! Also Mikoto introduces Corrin to the Hoshidan public!**


	7. Chapter 6: Connections and Questions

Chapter 6: Connections and Questions

Lilith was not happy. In fact she was in still in a state of shock that had started with Corrin's collapse. Since that event, the stable girl had been at her master's side nonstop. Every time she had been forced either to eat or to go to the bathroom, the paranoia and worry had curled up inside her like a snake. She was not the only one to be there however, much to her chagrin.

"Lilith, please sit down. You'll do no good if you push yourself to death. I know Corrin wouldn't want you to get hurt."

The blue and red haired servant glared at the queen regent of Hoshido but continued to pace all the same. The unlikely pair had been in Corrin's room, now outfitted to function as a hospital, for approximately a week and half now. Since then, the prince's condition had grown steadily worse. What had started as a coma and mild sweating had evolved into what could only be described as body horror. The skin on Corrin's body was in a constant state of flux, shifting from its normal pale complexion to a scaly grey hide reminiscent of a snake. In addition, various structures would periodically boost forth from his flesh before rapidly receding. From his hands and feet there were claws while wings would erupt from his shoulders and horns from his head. The only consolation was that the transformations did not seem to cause an increase in pain. Considering that the prince was and had been catatonic for over a week, this was hardly reassuring to Lilith.

Of course she recognized the transformations; she had seen a portion of it previously at the bottomless canyon. There it had been different. There they had been a controlled conduit for the prince's rage as he lashed out against a traitor. It was a product of Corrin's inheritance, of the draconic blood that ran through his veins. They should be as natural to him as wings were to a Pegasus. Yet here they were, seemingly consuming him.

 _But wait, Corrin reacted badly to the power there as well,._ Lilith thought. _After the fight with Hans he started clutching his eye and fell off the side. Could this be related to that? And if so, what's the trigger?_

Lilith walked back over to Corrin's bed, being careful to sidestep as a tail like structure shot out before receding back under the covers. Ignoring Mikoto's curious glance, Lilith slowly bent over Corrin's head and carefully pulled the prince's left eyelid back to reveal a sight that made her heart skip a beat. What greeted her was not the crimson eyes she had seen ever since she had met her master, but instead a golden one not unlike Azura's.

Shock seized her. Slowly backing away, Lilith couldn't help but ask,. "M-my Queen, do you have any idea what this means?"

"Lilith? What's wrong?" The queen stood up and rushed over, her eyes filled with concern for the stable girl.

"His eyes. I thought the transformation into a silent dragon didn't affect the eyes. I thought they remained crimson."

"They- they should. Why what's happened to them?." Mikoto asked before quickly rushing over to her son to check on him herself. Following in Lilith's footsteps the queen remained silent as she checked. "This… this is not normal."

"Your highness, with all due respect, I knew that much."

"No, it's not just the color. After all, Azura is perfectly healthy," the queen mumbled as she raised a hand to her head and slowly backed away. "It's the feeling that it gives me. The eye is giving off an aura that is neither human nor draconic. It's like nothing I've ever sensed before. It reeks of something alien. Something old."

After quickly checking the other eye and finding it to be the normal red hue they remembered it to be, the queen fell to her knees as the tears she had been holding in for the past week and half finally began to flow. "And beyond that I can no longer sense his future. It feels like he doesn't even exist! This has never happened before… ev-even his father was always… always…" The rest of the queen's words faded and her sobbing grew more intense.

The serving girl watched in silence as one of the most powerful women in the world sobbed on the ground in front of her. Not quite sure how to respond, she finally decided to sit down next to her. "My qu- Mikoto. I know, our situation is a bit… unusual. And I still haven't changed my mind about what we discussed the other day. But, I do want you to know, that no matter what, I promise to keep Corrin safe. And to that end, I will never give up on either of you. No matter what the future may hold."

Wiping away a tear, the queen forced a sad smile as she turned towards Lilith. "Th-thank you. I'm s-so sorry that you have to see me like this."

"It's no problem. I'm a bit of wreck right now as well. I'm usually a lot more composed than this."

"I'm happy to see you so grown up, but, no there is a problem. I should have been there for you, for both of you. I know that you don't want to admit it but-"

"Please, Mikoto, I'm begging you. Not here. Not now."

"You're right of course." Mikoto admitted slowly, clearly embarrassed. "I apologize again. It was unfair for me to put you in that kind of a position. It's just, the last thing Corrin said before he fell unconscious was… he-he called me mother."

"He has his memories back?"

"I believe so."

Lilith stared back at her master once more, a mixture of confusion and unease spreading through her psyche. _All right Lilith let's just take this one step at a time._ _Corrin's memories are back. They are back because he sat down on the Hoshidan throne. A throne that can break any enchantment. If what the queen said was true, it worked._ Lilith's hands slowly turned to fists as she continued to think. _But was the memory curse the only thing broken? And if not, what did we unleash? And what will happen to my brother?_

* * *

Corrin floated in a sea of scattered images and ideas. It wasn't like when he had sat down on the throne, those had been crisp, clear, and concrete. These were immaterial, almost like he was just on the cusp of waking from an already half-forgotten dream. Every time he tried to focus on something it just slipped further and further away.

Struggling through the haze, the prince reached out, desperately trying to hold onto something, anything that might serve as an anchor. Grasping on to what appeared to be a floating orb of a light, for a second an image, clear as day, appeared in his mind. He was sitting at a table in a very blue room, wearing the most comfortable pair of shows that he had ever felt. Across the room from him, two figures were embracing. One was a young woman with white hair similar to Corrin's own. The other had blue hair and appeared to be slightly younger than him. For some reason that Corrin could not explain, the image of the boy brought a tidal wave of sadness, to the point where he felt the need to flee. Rubbing his eyes as the image faded back into the fog, Corrin began to notice more and more orbs of light scattered around him.

"You aren't ready yet," a voice said matter-of-factly. "It would break you."

Corrin glanced around in confusion as he searched for the source of the voice.

"I'm sorry, but that won't work. You see, there's no mirror here for you to look in. Though, I suppose you could make one if you wanted to."

"You're… you're me?"

"Afraid so. 'Thou art I and I am thou.' Heh heh, please excuse you. We've always wanted to say that. But for obvious reasons I'm sure you'll remember eventually, we've never really gotten the chance to."

Corrin's head began to hurt even more than it had before. "All right, for our, no my, sake can we just pretend for a second that we are two different people and talk accordingly?"

"I don't see why not. Though I was having fun playing the pronoun game."

"Well I'm glad one of us was,." Corrin replied, frustrated. "Now, can you please tell me what you meant before? What will break me?"

"Technically it already has. You created an alternate personality to shield yourself from all of this."

"All of this?"

"Haven't you realized yet? Each of these lights is a fragment. A memory long since locked away."

Corrin looked around at the tens of thousands of lights that twinkled in the world around him. "There's so many."

"And therein lies the core of our problem," the voice replied, sounding annoyed. "There ARE too many. If you were to try and regain them all immediately, kind of like what you're trying to do right now, it would tear you apart."

"But how is that possible? How can all of these," Corrin gestured all around him, "be from six years' worth of missing memories? And what about that blue haired boy? Or that angel and tower from before? How can all of those be from when I was less than six?"

"They aren't," the voice replied curtly. "Your memories from Hoshido aren't the issue here. Those ones have already assimilated back into your consciousness. It's the ones from before then that seek to overwhelm you."

"What does that even-"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that, only provide some helpful advice," the voice replied with what sounded like pity. "Suffice to say, we aren't lucky enough for our past to just fade away. It WILL come back. And when it does, you will need these memories to defend yourself."

"But you said that it would kill me."

"Not kill, break. But in our line of work that's basically the same thing. What I mean is that for now at least you must make do with the single complete memory that you have. The one of the tower with the fairy and the angel. You remember that right?"

Corrin nodded, the images the voice referred to etched into his mind.

"Well even now that single memory is threatening to tear you apart. But if you can manage to reconcile the power that memory holds with the power you were born with in this world, then you should be able to slowly acclimate to the rest of your power."

"I'm sorry but you've lost me. Power I was born with? The power of a memory? What are you talking about?"

The voice snorted. "Damn, you're dense. This must be how Pixie feels twenty four seven… Listen! All you have to do for now is wake up with your weird tower memory and not die. Think you can manage that?"

"I don't have much of a choice do I?"

"No, no you do not. Now good luck! Remember, I'm rooting for you!"

Corrin began to feel himself slowly awaken. Right as the dream seemed it was about to end, he forced a final question,. "Will I speak with you again?"

The voice chuckled as the light of awakening began to blur and distort the prince's vision. "I have the strangest feeling, a premonition as it were, that the next time you come here, there will be no distinction between us. You will be alone. After all, I am you. Just a you that is temporarily forgotten."

* * *

Corrin sat up on his bed. The final words of his annoying alter ego still drifting through his rattled subconscious. _Note to self: If that is how I sound to everyone around me, I need to make a much more concerted effort not to a dick. Because that was extremely obnoxious._

Corrin raised a hand to his head while he tried to gather his bearings. It appeared he was back in his room, though there was now what appeared to be medical equipment piled haphazardly around him. In addition he could make out two figures slumped up against each other on one of the walls adjacent to the window. Closer examination revealed the duo to be Lilith and his mother. Smiling softly, Corrin wondered why he was wearing what felt like a gauntlet. Looking down at his hand, it took all the willpower he had not to scream.

His entire left arm was covered in a layer grey scales that ended in a claw where his hand should have been. Struggling to remain calm, Corrin noticed that the scales seemed to give off a dull pain, similar to muscles after a long day of training. Then, as Corrin stared at the scales, his feeling of horror turned to fascination as they slowly and steadily receded back into his flesh. Eventually they completely vanished, not leaving a single clue that they had ever existed.

 _What is this?_ Corrin thought. _Is this what asshole me was referring to? One of the two powers that's tearing me apart?_ Corrin glanced down at his bed and noticed the ripped bedding and damaged bedframe. _And did it do all of this?_ Whatever _is going on here, I need to get to the bottom of it, and fast._

A flurry of movement and a pouncing stable girl dragged him back to reality. Grunting from the impact, Corrin forced a smile and patted Lilith on the head as he returned the hug. "I'm sorry I worried you there."

Lilith emitted what sounded like a stifled grunt and continued to press her face into his shoulder. Smiling, Corrin waited for the stable girl to have her fill. Eventually satisfied, Lilith broke the hug and backed away, tears dripping down her cheeks. "M-milord, I'm s-so sorry. It's just- well, we thought that…"

Corrin waved her down. "It's fine Lilith. To be fair, if what I woke up to was any indication you probably had it much worse than I did. Now, I really hate to ask, but how long was I out?"

"Eleven days," a new yet familiar voice replied. Looking up, Corrin saw the exhausted face of his mother staring down at him. "Ever since you sat down on the throne, you've been here, hovering between life and death. Azura, Kaze, and your siblings have been in to visit you every day and they would have been here now as well had there been room."

"Eleven days?! Wow, that's just… wow. Dare I ask what the symptoms were?"

"That's… a conversation that would be better to have after you've regained your strength. How do you feel? Are you in pain?"

Looking away from the queen and back to where the scales had been on his arm, Corrin opened and closed his hand a few times, testing to make sure that the muscles were all still functional. "I believe so. I won't know for sure until I test it out on the practice field, but outside of a very odd skin condition when I woke up, everything seems normal."

"Skin condition? Yes, that's what we'll call it," Mikoto mumbled before smiling again at her son. "But more about that later. You must be starving! I'll go down to the kitchens and inform them that you're awake. Lilith if you'll- Corrin?"

While she had been talking, Corrin had reached over and grabbed the queen's wrist with a trembling hand. Some things had to be said, and they had to be said as soon as possible, otherwise he might lose his nerve and never do it. "Umm, my queen I'm sorry but… I just wanted to tell you that regardless of the end result, your plan did work. I do remember everything, mom."

Mikoto remained silent as the prince continued, now rambling, "And I don't want you to blame yourself. I don't regret sitting down on the throne. Even if I did almost die, I'm finally back to normal and that's worth it! You, and my siblings, and even dad-" The rest of Corrin's speech was cut off by a hug from the queen.

"Please don't say that. Please, just, just…" Mikoto pulled back to reveal a smile coupled with tears. "Be still, I'm glad you're back too. My son."

* * *

Corrin's defenses crumpled under the onslaught his brother unleashed. Desperate to mitigate the damage, Corrin jumped backwards, barely dodging the last of Ryoma's fierce combo. Forcing himself to ignore the pain of the samurai's initial blows, the white haired prince raised his blade back to its starting position.

His opponent's features gave nothing away. There was an intensity to Ryoma's gaze, as though he were dissecting his every movement. As much as Corrin was loath to admit it, his opponent was not only his superior, but also probably Xander's as well. Whereas Nohr's crown prince had taken up combat as a necessary evil to facilitate his own ends, Hoshido's clearly had a passion for it. Ryoma made swordplay an art. His sword was a shooting star flashing across the arena and Corrin had absolutely no clue as to how to deal with it. Compounded with that was the fact that he was forced to use an unfamiliar type of sword. Due to his losing the Ganglari, Ryoma had been all too happy to provide a replacement in the form of an iron Katana. And although it was clearly a beautiful weapon, the different weight distribution, number of edges, and overall shape meant that all of Corrin's training in Nohrian swordplay was useless.

Waiting for his brother to make the first move, Corrin was desperately trying to form some type of strategy. So far he had decided that at best he would have to keep on the defensive and hope that Ryoma would slip up somehow, but it was rapidly becoming clear that was futile.

Ryoma surged forwards once more, his blade cutting through Corrin's thoughts. Struggling to parry, Corrin was slowly but surely forced back. As he retreated he started to notice qualities inherent in his opponent's fighting style that he hadn't noticed before. It was odd; they weren't martial arts forms or techniques that he noticed but only what he could describe as elemental affinities. There was a slight static tinge to the samurai coupled with a feeling Corrin could only describe as sturdiness. Given time he probably could have discerned just what it meant, but Ryoma refused to let up. Distracted, Corrin missed the final parry and was knocked to the ground.

Rubbing his head, Corrin looked back up to his victorious opponent.

"Not bad, little brother. Though it's clear that you have a long way to go. Your form was passable but you'll need to focus on maintaining a clear head. During that last exchange it seemed as if you were dazed for some reason."

"That might be the concussion I'm pretty sure you gave me,." Corrin countered, a plan beginning to form in his mind. "But in all seriousness, what else did you notice about our fight? I could obviously use the pointers."

Nodding, the high prince began to talk, being sure to critique in an as effective and respectful way as possible. But Corrin wasn't paying attention, instead he was trying to focus on the aura he had spotted during the fight. Eventually a word sprung to his mind. He couldn't truly be sure where it had come from, but it felt very familiar.

 _Analyze!_ Corrin thought before almost jumping backwards in surprise. As the ability activated, the aura surrounding Ryoma suddenly made perfect sense as the perceived qualities were fleshed out and expanded, the information entering the white haired prince's consciousness.

 _Electric Affinity- Null. Physical Affinity- Resist. Ice Affinity- Weak. Other Affinities- Normal. Level- 7. Clan- Non-demon, subclass human._

Corrin was midway through trying to determine if he had indeed been hit too hard in the head when he heard Ryoma, cry out in alarm and he felt an intense pain in his left arm and leg. Frantically searching for the source of the issue, Corrin noticed that the limbs in question were fluctuating between their grey scaled and original forms. Startled, Corrin fell backward and hit his head.

"Corrin, are you all right? I'll go grab Sakura. Hang on!"

"Ryoma, hold on! I think I might be able to fix it. Just, give me a second." Forcing himself to remain calm, the prince began to focus on the offending appendages. Ignoring the pain as well as his brother's look of concern Corrin focused only on the skin. Nothing else mattered. Slowly the pain began to fade, but instead of transforming back, the mosaic like scales shined where the skin had once been. Confused for a second, an odd sense of curiosity wormed its way into the prince. Smiling, Corrin moved the arm a little, testing it, before reaching down to pick up the sword with his newly armored claw. Upon picking it up, he found the blade was now as light as a feather.

"That's amazing." Corrin said while looking at the arm in wonder.

"Corrin?"

"The sword, it's like it isn't even there. I think I can…" Corrin tried to get to his feet only to jump forward by accident as his left leg pushed much, much harder than his right. Flying forward he eventually crashed down face first. "Ouch. That hurt. A lot. I guess the left leg is stronger as well. My poor face…"

"Are you all right?"

"Ya, just…" Corrin rolled over and stared at the sky until he stopped seeing stars. Forcing himself to sit up, he focused on his leg once more, willing the transformation to revert. Slowly, beginning at a snail's pace but speeding up as it went, the scales slowly receded back into his being and his skin reverted to its normal pale complexion.

Smiling with satisfaction, Corrin continued. "Now, let's see if we can…" The white haired prince held out his right arm and focused. Sure enough the hand transformed into a claw and a sea of scales slid into place. Switching the iron katana to his dominant hand, the prince got to his feet and looked at the worried face of his brother. "What? Never seen a man with weird scale-arms before? I swear everyone is so sheltered here in Hoshido…"

"Corrin, I don't think you understand the gravity of what is going on here. You didn't see what it was like while you were in the hospital."

"Brother, I understand exactly what gravity is: it's what knocks you on your ass when you fall!" Corrin cut in with a smirk, sprinting towards the high prince with his practice Katana raised.

Ryoma sighed and assumed a defensive posture, ready to intercept the younger prince's attack. Swinging his blade, Corrin was shocked by the shear strength behind his blow as his blade knocked Ryoma's back for the first time and forced the high prince on the defensive. Grunting in surprise Ryoma leapt backwards, swinging his sword in a wide arc to buy himself space. Pressing his advantage, Corrin continued to rush the high prince.

What followed was far more intense than any of their previous encounters. Corrin now had the edge in strength and was keen to try and capitalize on that advantage whenever possible, but Ryoma was a monster. Though Corrin could now easily overwhelm him, Ryoma had yet to give him the chance to do so. Employing his parries and strikes in such a way that the force of Corrin's blows was dispersed, the high prince was minimizing the impact of each attack. Combined with his superior speed and agility, Ryoma was more than able to hold his own against Corrin's new augmented form.

Knocking aside one of Ryoma's reposts, Corrin sidestepped before aiming a strike at his brother's legs. Mid swing his left eye started to itch causing Corrin to hesitate mid strike. Seizing the opportunity, Ryoma leaped over the attack, flipping over Corrin and swinging the practice sword at his head. Rolling out of the way, Corrin tried to stand but found the itch in his eye had increased to an intense pain. Try as he might to keep his sword raised, Corrin found he could barely hold onto it in the face of what felt like red hot daggers digging into his eye.

Ryoma, noticing something was wrong, tried to call out to his brother and Corrin even saw his mouth move, but he couldn't hear anything. The pain was all encompassing, and… familiar. _This- this is the same as at the bottomless canyon. This was what happened after Hans. ARRRGGGGGGGG! I have to- I have to find a way to stop it before I go unconscious again._ Desperate Corrin did the only thing he could and focused on returning his arms to their original form. Fighting through the pain, Corrin through his entire being at the transformation. Slowly, the arms returned once more to normal and as they did the pain in his left eye disappeared as well.

Breathing heavily, he barely noticed as Ryoma came up to him and rested a hand on his shoulder in concern.

"Are you all right?"

"I think so;, the pain is gone at least." _Was it the transformation that triggered the pain? It certainly seems so. Well in that case, I learned something at least. From that session it appears that there is a certain amount of time I can use the ability before the pain activates. Approximately three to five minutes by my estimate. I'll need to test it out to find out for sure, though. Speaking of tests, that 'Analyze' thing… did that trigger the initial pain and transformation in my left limbs? Probably. And what was that information it gave? If that is true that is one heck of a power._

Ryoma's voice brought him back to reality. "That was certainly quite the show you put on. Reminds me of the time we tried to force Hinoka to walk the plank."

"That was the time at the lake right?"

Ryoma chuckled. "That's correct. We had made a raft out of some old branches and the two of us had taken it out to the middle of the pond. At the last minute before we left the shore, Hinoka jumped onto the boat from the dock, propelling us into the center of the pond and knocking the oar from your hands."

"Ha, ha. I remember. Because of her we got stuck in the middle. I gave a huge speech and called her a stowaway before trying to push her off so she could go grab the oar. She was much stronger than I thought she was."

"That she was. It boiled down to the two of you flipping the raft." Ryoma sat down next to him. "You know, when you first got back I didn't think we would ever be able to have conversations like this ever again."

"You mean about before I was kidnapped?"

"Yes. I thought you were dead to me, to all of us. To have you finally back is… well it means the world to us all."

"Even Takumi?" Corrin asked with a raised eyebrow.

Ryoma sighed. "I know it seems like he doesn't care, but I promise he'll come around. He may have been young when you left, but he was as heartbroken as the rest of us. Just give him a chance."

"I'll try, but if I'm being honest, this whole memory thing has still got me confused. I just got out of bed this morning after all. I can barely handle all of these feelings."

"I must admit, I was surprised that the first thing you wanted to do after waking up was spar. I was even more surprised that mother allowed it."

Corrin looked at the afternoon clouds floating in the sky above them. "Sparring has always helped me clear my head. With this many new thoughts and feelings it's pretty much full to bursting. Besides, what else was I going to do? Sit in that room and go through another twenty medical examinations? Not on my life."

"Mother is only doing that because she cares about you. Even you have to admit, that ability of yours is… unusual. I haven't heard of anything quite like it even in legends. And while you were uncurious it was running rampant. We just want to make sure you are alright."

"I know, I know. It's just so much to take in,." Corrin replied before letting a silence fall on the two brothers. After a few minutes, Corrin looked back to his brother. "Ryoma, can I ask you something?"

"Of course, Corrin."

"Even though I know that they aren't my real family, even now that I know I was kidnapped, I still miss the Nohrian royals. Heck, I even still think of myself as a Nohrian. I miss my siblings. I miss my home. I still want father's approval… What the hell is wrong with me?"

"Corrin… I don't know what to say. You've been through a lot. It will take some time until you truly come to terms with who you are. I don't know what that will entail, or even how you will go about doing it, but please remember that if you ever need help, I'm here for you. All of us are."

"Thanks, Ryoma that means- hey incoming."

"Hmm?" Ryoma turned to see where Corrin had indicated. A castle servant was approaching the pair, a scroll grasped in his right hand. As he approached, Corrin noticed that he was breathing heavily. _Did he run all the way here? And if so, just what does that scroll say?_

"What seems to be the issue?" Ryoma inquired as he stepped forward to accept the message.

To his surprise the servant bowed to the prince before replying. "I apologize my prince, but the message is actually for the Nohrian."

"This Nohrian is Prince Corrin and you will-""

"Ryoma, that's enough." Corrin waved his infuriated brother down. "Just leave it, that's not important." Reaching out to receive the message, Corrin thanked the servant who made a quick exit, probably eager to avoid the high prince's wrath. Reading the message, Corrin's face quickly grew dark.

"What is it?" Ryoma asked, worried.

"A summons,." Corrin deadpanned. "Apparently the leader of the Fire Tribe heard about Kaze's return and came in person to find out just what happened to his daughter. Considering my involvement, my presence is required."

Ryoma went silent and Corrin took a second to consider just what this would entail. _How am I going to explain this? Neither, Lilith, Kaze, or myself can speak of Valla outside its borders and I'm basically the reason that Rinkah got murdered by Arete. Well if you can call that death. It's probably worse- STOP that is not the point here. I guess I'll just have to come clean and tell the story. Hopefully he's reasonable._

"Ryoma, this man… is he?"

"Little Brother, it would probably be for the best that I go with you. This might get…heated."

Rolling his eyes the white haired prince sarcastically replied. "Wonderful. Just wonderful! Well we might as well get this over with." Corrin started towards the throne room before stopping as a thought crossed his mind. "Hey Ryoma, quick question. How do you feel about snow and ice in general?"

"Hmm? Odd question. I guess if I had to answer I'd say that I really don't care for it. Why do you ask?"

"No reason." _So was that 'Analysis' really true? If it was that is one amazing ability. Oh the things I could use that for… Too bad it seems like I can't use it without my body going crazy. Speaking of crazy, let's get this over with._

* * *

"So this is the Nohrian prince?" tThe short, haired man standing in front of Corrin asked. He was wearing the ivory and crimson uniform of an Oni Chieftain. A short beard graced his face while the hair on his head appeared to be thinning. He had the same brown skin as his daughter as well as the same fire in his eyes. Surprisingly muscular, the man appeared more of a warrior than a leader and that image was completed by a silver club hanging from a large cord that functioned as a belt. "Do you know who I am boy?"

"Chief Kasai. Leader of the Fire tribe that lies in northern Hoshido."

"That's right. And I am the father of the heir to that tribe, my daughter Rinkah. Now you are familiar with my daughter are you not?"

"Chief Kasai…" Mikoto said as she attempted to intervene.  
"Mikoto, you know it is my right to question him. A right I will not have denied." the chief growled before turning back to Corrin. "Now, did you know my daughter?"

"Yes." He's c _ertainly an aggressive one._

"And where did you meet her?"

"In the Nohrian palace at Windmire." _How do I swing this story so that Mikoto and the others don't get in trouble?_

The chief's voice grew low as he continued. "Tell me prince: under what conditions did the two of you meet?"

Corrin looked the chief directly in the eyes. He couldn't afford to show weakness here. If he did, it would be a fatal mistake. "I was ordered to fight her." _He's out for blood. I wasn't sure before but now…_

"Oh really?" The chief closed the distance between the two and stood an inch from Corrin. Their noses were almost touching and Corrin could smell the distinct aroma of smoke wafting from the man's breath. "And just how did this fight end?"

Refusing to back down, the white haired prince answered. "With my defeating her followed by her apparent execution at the hands of my father's chief advisor, Iago." _You want someone to be angry at? By all means, choose me. If I can use it to manipulate you then fire away chief._

The chief remained silent. Turning around so that his back was facing the prince, Corrin waited for a few tense moments before he heard the man ask. "What do you mean by 'apparent' execution?"

 _Damn. How do I explain this? I can't talk about Valla. I'll just have to relay it as though I were escaping from Nohrian territory. Hopefully he doesn't have a very in depth knowledge of our terrain._ "Rinkah and her troops were not killed by Iago's spell as I thought at the time. Instead she and her allies were teleported to an unknown location. A location I later found myself after I fell into the Bottomless Canyon. Once there I found the group but it was already too la-" Corrin was cut off by the chief's fist connecting with the side of his face sending him reeling. _AND we're further along than I thought we were. Hurray._

Pushing himself to his knees, Corrin looked up at the rage filled face of the fire chieftain. His hand hovering over his club, the old man began to tremble with rage. "You think I'm a fool? That I would believe such a lie?! How dare you! I ought to kill you where you stand, scum!"

"You will do no such thing." Mikoto's ice cold voice reverberated across the throne room. "And if you so much as touch him again, I will have your head, Chief Kasai."

Kasai swung towards the throne where Mikoto sat. "You dare?! You would support this liar, this murderer, over your allies? We have ALWAYS stood by you. We have been your hammer across countless generations and THIS is how you repay us?!"

 _This is bad,._ Corrin thought desperately. _At the rate this is going, the chief might go so far as to blame the queen for Rinkah's death. If that were to happen, it might lead to a civil war which I sincerely doubt Iago would just let play out naturally. I have to do something to prevent this, but what to do? I can't kill him; that will just lead to more violence. Crippling him would have the added benefit of humiliating him… That might be the best way to do it. No, that's the only way to do it. Now to dangle the bait._

"Please think rationally,." Mikoto responded, though there was still an edge to her voice. Gesturing to the green haired ninja to her right she continued,. "If what Corrin said was false how did Kaze manage to return to us? And, for that matter, how did they appear in the royal gardens? A location, I remind you, that is under guard at all times. Even if you do not believe his story, even you must admit that there is enough doubt to warrant at least a chance."

"My Queen, please,." Corrin said while forcing himself to his feet. He guessed a black eye had already begun to form based on how his face felt. Looking into the disdainful eyes of the chieftain, Corrin slowly continued, "What I told you was the truth. That being said, I am still the reason why she is dead. If I had acted sooner, I might have been able to save her. Instead I hid and only made my move after I saw her fate. True, I was able to save Kaze but I doubt that means anything to you, nor should it. If you wish to blame someone for her death, it should rest on me and me alone. Leave the Hoshidan royals out of this. "

Kasai's eyes narrowed. "And would you be willing to take responsibility for your actions, prince?"

"If you want to try and avenge her, I will not refuse your request,." Corrin shot back. "But neither will I lay down and die." _If my battle with Ryoma was any indication, I should have about three minutes to defeat him if I use my transformation abilities. And if I combine that with 'Analyze" I'll know where to hit him. It'll be tricky but if I take him by surprise I should be able to incapacitate rather than kill._

"Enough! Both of you!" Mikoto decreed. "Chief Kasai, Corrin has just admitted that he tried to save your child. His only sin is putting the wellbeing of both himself and his companion first. The fact that they managed to save anyone at all is a miracle. And as you continue to remind us, he is a Nohrian prince, a diplomat from our most powerful neighbor. He was under no obligation to save one he saw as an enemy combatant. Now, please. I know how hard it is to lose a family member. But we cannot stoop to Nohr's level. Revenge cannot be our only motivator."

For a moment Corrin thought that Kasai was going to demand a trial by combat regardless, but a second later he saw the man's shoulders slump. The face that looked back up on the queen was forlorn, like it had lost all faith. "You would ask me to give up my only chance to give her peace? To just accept the one who is essentially her killer?"

"If that is how you describe it, then yes. I do." Mikoto responded curtly.

An intense silence fell over the throne room as everyone present waited on baited breaths for what would happen next. Eventually the chieftain turned towards the door and his two bodyguards fell into position by his sides. Not bothering to turn around the old man yelled back,. "Queen Mikoto, hear my words. From this day forward know that we are no longer friends. We will support you in the defense of our kingdoms from that scum's country but make no mistake. It is necessity that binds us together, never kinship. And if you should ever need our aid, send a courier; I want nothing to do with you or your children ever again."

And with that the man left, leaving a tense atmosphere in his wake. Looking at the assembled court and at her son, the Queen eventually spoke up,. "If we are to survive, we must secure our borders and raise our army. If we are to live, we must secure our values and raise our hearts. I will not rule a kingdom that allows those virtues to be trampled underfoot after someone has done us a great service. Now, let us disperse for the evening. I know we have all had a very long day."

With a few minor grunts of disdain, the court left. A few of the members, the higher ranking officials of noble birth, gave Corrin looks of disgust as they passed. Corrin tried to ignore them, and instead searched out his older brother. Seeing Ryoma at the other side of the room speaking with Yukimura, the white haired prince slowly weaved his way through the crowd to his target.

Upon seeing him, Ryoma gave a solemn nod while Yukimura bit his lip and remained silent. Sighing, Corrin felt the need to say something, anything. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry about that. I was hoping it could turn out better than it did."

The high prince held up a hand to silence him. "Peace, brother. You acted as best you could. It could have been much worse."

"But now our relations with the Fire Tribe are the worst they've been in generations,." Yukimura added. Giving Corrin a cool gaze, the bespectacled tactician continued,. "At this rate there will be high resentment towards the crown. This may have lasting repercussions that we still can't fathom."

"Yukimura, that's enough,." Ryoma ordered. "We will endure. I'm sure the chieftain will come around. And besides, with Corrin here, we might finally be able to broker a lasting peace with Nohr."

But the high prince did not sound too certain. There was a very real sense of doubt in his features, somehow managing to cut through his normally stoic façade. Corrin realized just how much damage his presence had done to this kingdom and to his family. He had to fix this somehow.

"I'll go after them. Maybe I can convince him, maybe I can-" Corrin began.

"No," Yukimura interrupted, his gaze hard. "I think you've done enough. I don't know how things are done in Nohr, but you basically looked for a fight throughout that entire exchange. Based on that performance of yours, I think everyone in the court knows whose son you really are, and it isn't our queen. No matter how much she may pretend otherwise."

Corrin froze in place. All his muscles seized up and his stomach felt like it had been punched. _Is, is that really true? Have all my actions really done is serve to alienate mother from the rest of her subjects? But in Nohr, a show of strength it- it is supposed to show respect, commitment, and power. I- I- I- what can I… What should I do?_

And in an instant Corrin realized the truth. _There's nothing I CAN do._

"YUKIMURA. That is tantamount to treason,." Ryoma thundered, his hand already reaching for Raijinto as the smell of ozone began to fill the room.

"Ryoma, please,." Corrin said, stepping between the two of them. "He may be right. Perhaps there's more of Garon in me than I thought." Trying to hide the look of sadness that had come unbidden, he looked to the ground. "I- I think I need some time. I'll see you later." Turning his back on the two men, Corrin slowly made his way back to his room, the learned lessons of Nohr still battling with the recently remembered proverbs of Hoshido.

* * *

 **Author's Note-**

 **So I knew this was going to happen eventually, but it seems I might have overestimated what I could fit into this chapter. Needless to say we didn't make it to the Hoshidan public part yet, and I am sorry about that. I can't promise something like this won't happen again, but I'll try my best to make sure it doesn't.**

 **That said, I do hope you enjoyed the chapter! As usual, if you have any questions, critiques, or predictions, please leave a review and I'll do my best to get back to you! Of course no spoilers.**

 **Also a big thank you to the friend of mine who volunteered to help proof this. Hopefully this will help ensure higher quality writing!**

 **Two things before we get to the responses.**

 **First- this chapter had our first OC Kasai. Oddly enough, the fire tribe is the only one of the three elemental tribes you never visit in Fates. Considering what happened to Rinkah, I felt it would have been odd if there were no repercussions. Hopefully you guys enjoyed him!**

 **Second- About Flynn and Nanashi. For the latter I haven't played Apocalypse yet so I doubt he'll be making an appearance any time soon. (He might eventually though. Depends if it fits or not. If I am going to write him, I want to give him justice.) As far as Flynn is concerned...**

 **vampireharry the 2- Glad you enjoyed! Thank you again for continued support!**

 **Otaku-Nation666- NO MERCY! But in all seriousness, I really hope you enjoy what's coming. There is a plan to make sure everything doesn't get too jumbled or crowded.**

 **Demons Anarchy of Pride- FINALLY I can say this: Way to call the Demifiend reincarnation back in chapter 1! As for how he is related to the greater SMT universe, we'll have to wait and see. Speaking of that prediction, the ending that was taken was a variation of the freedom ending. Thanks for the recomendation about the RUBY crossover, I'll be sure to take that out.**

 **Mzr90- More than you know, less than you might think.**

 **Disclaimer- This is a nonprofit, fan-based work. All characters and settings belong to their respective owners.**

 **Next Time- Corrin deals with the ramifications of meeting with Kasai and Mikoto introduces Corrin to the Hoshidan public! (For real this time.)**


	8. Chapter 7: Kaze's Advice

Chapter 7:

Corrin sat on the roof of the Hoshidan castle. The sky was a magnificent blend of orange and yellow as the sun rose. The light cascaded over the surrounding landscape, painting an image reminiscent of the vibrant watercolors he had seen adoring the Hoshidan throne room. Unfortunately, the beautiful atmosphere served only to sharply contrast with the prince's mood.

"Corrin? You wanted to talk to me?"

"Kaze, thanks for coming. I'm sorry for the strange meeting place but after yesterday I thought it was for the best."

"You… might be right about that. So what's wrong? You're message made it seem urgent. Are some of them nobles giving you trouble?"

Corrin winced. "Not yet. And I don't intend to give them the chance. After yesterday's incident I think it would be best if Lilith and I were to make our exit."

Kaze sat down and looked out over the surrounding countryside. "You are sure? If you two leave there will be no going back. You'll be branded as fugitives."

"You think I don't know that? But what else am I supposed to do? I've been here less than a month and I've already put my mother's position in jeopardy. Imagine the damage I would do if I stayed."

"You may have a point." Kaze admitted slowly. "But at the same time, don't you think you're overreacting? I think you might be taking this a little too quickly."

"A little too quickly?"

"Corrin, please try to stay calm. I know you must-" Kaze began.

"And what would you know about this?" Corrin demanded. "You have no idea what I've been through; what I'm dealing with right now! Just who do you think you are?"

"Who am I?" Kaze whispered, refusing to meet the prince's gaze. "I'm the man who was presumed dead only to return with an enemy prince. I am the man whose family no longer trusts him because they think he's a spy. You think you're going through a lot Corrin? Well I'm sorry to break this to you, but of the two of us I'm worse off here. At least you have a home to go back to."

Corrin glanced at the ninja before looking away in shame. "Kaze, why didn't you say anything?"

"There was no good time to say it. And besides, as you said; we both have our own issues to deal with. I didn't want to worry you."

"But your family, do they really…"

Kaze sighed. "My brother's job means he has to always be suspicious. And as far as my mother is concerned… well she has always been obsessed with the family's name and prestige. My being captured was bad enough, but being rescued by a Nohrian? It doesn't matter whether I'm a traitor or not; in her eyes I'm a disgrace."

An awkward silence fell upon the duo.

"We're really quite the pair aren't we?" Corrin said with a sigh.

"Truly."

"So what are we going to do?"

"Do? Corrin, what is that WE can do? Last time I checked you were the one with the choice here. Are you going to stay or go?"

"I told you that-

"Oh no you don't. I'm not letting you take the easy path without thinking. I have a stake in this too. As I'm sure you've released by now. I am asking you, as a fellow outcast, hear me out."

"Kaze? What do you…?"

"I'll get to that. Just, please, humor me." Kaze interrupted, waving the prince down. "Now, before we go any further, please tell me just why you think you need to leave."

Corrin shrugged. "I told you. The longer I stay here the more damage I'll do to my mother's position. In the end it might result in her losing standing in the court or even being overthrown or assassinated. I can't let that happen."

"Alright, now tell me; why do you think that would happen?

"Because-"

"Because you don't know how Hoshidans live. You worry that your Nohrian upbringing will prevent you from relating or living with your family here, right?" Kaze continued, his voice steady and confident. "You're right of course, the cultures are completely different. For instance, what is it that Nohr values above all else?"

"Have you noticed you're talking a lot more than usual?"

"Please, don't ignore the question."

Corrin thought for a second, looking out over the countryside. "They honor ability above all else. If you can't support society then society will not support you. Even if you are common born by birth, ability can even lead to a spot in the nobility. My father's chief advisor was born a peasant."

"Now think about how that compares to Hoshido. Here, honor and prestige are most important. If you are born into a noble family, you are expected to carry on that family's legacy and uphold their honor. However, if you are born a commoner there is no chance to move up in the world. We are all bound by the status we are born into."

"That sounds awful." Corrin replied with disgust.

"Not necessarily." Kaze rebuked. "If Nohr is how you describe it, there must be a constant state of competition. Everyone is against everyone with success and power only being given to the small number of victors. Here in Hoshido everyone may be trapped in their role, but because of that there is no need to fight each other. We can happily embrace our lot in life and focus on being happy."

"So what are you trying to say? That Hoshido is good and Nohr is bad?" Corrin asked, confused. "You know, I'm pretty sure I already got that from those nobles at court." When the ninja didn't answer he considered the words again, eventually coming to another answer. "No that's not it. There are aspects of each side that are good and bad."

"That was my conclusion as well. Hoshido offers safety but lacks freedom. Its laws are rigid and unyielding."

"And Nohr offers freedom and an opportunity for a better life but encourages conflict. It's always in a state of flux." Corrin finished. "So wouldn't it be better for me to leave? From what you said, the two sides seem incompatible."

"You might be right." Kaze shrugged. "Yet we are still allies, are we not? What does that say?"

The sun had finally finished its accent above the horizon and the fiery hues of dawn had given way to the clear blue of day. "Maybe that there's hope? Maybe that there is a way for peace after all. But if that's true, they'll never reach it on their own, the two sides will never be able to compromise. They're too different."

"True. If only we had someone who could bridge that gap. Maybe someone who had ties to both sides?" Kaze added with a smile.

"You know, for a ninja, you're not very subtle." Corrin threw back with a chuckle.

"Wasn't trying to be."

Corrin rolled his eyes before turning back towards the window he had come from earlier this morning. Beginning to walk towards it, the prince turned one last time toward the green haired ninja and made his decision in an instant. "It's going to be very difficult to do this on my own. If you're not too busy with whatever my mother has you working on, I could sure use someone to help me function in Hoshidan society. After all, if I'm going to try and bridge the gap between the two nations, it might help to have someone who grew up there. And in addition I've fought besides you. I know I can trust you.

"That would surely be advantageous." Kaze said solemnly. "But would you take a disgraced ninja? It would only serve to hinder you in the eyes of the court. By all accounts anyone else would be a better fit. It's not that I don't want to help, it's just there are far better options."

"Kaze, I swear… If you blow me off after that whole speech you gave, I will throw you off this building myself."

"That was a very Nohrian thing to say, Corrin."

"See! That's why I need you. Unlike the rest of the people here you seem to actually treat me like a person." Corrin scrunched up his face in disgust. "Everyone else just glares at me when I do something wrong but you told me! So to heck with honor, I'm a Nohrian, and I'll take ability with disgrace over honor and prejudice. Now come on, I think I'm entitled to a retainer or two and you seem to be the only one capable of that. Not counting Lilith of course."

"R-retainer? But, Corrin I- I just told you that-"

Corrin laughed, enjoying how flustered the ninja was becoming. "And I told you, that you're the only one here that I want."

"Please, Corrin wait. You're still confused from your encounter with Kasai. You need time to think. A retainer is a very important position! When I came to talk with you I thought I was just going to help push you down the right path, I didn't-"

"Kaze, please kneel already." Corrin cut in. "I've made up my mind here."

"Corrin, I can't!"

"And why not?"

Kaze's soldiers slumped. "It's, well… I suppose it's time you knew. Back when you were originally captured I was the one stationed as your bodyguard. Since I began training I was being prepped to be your personal servant. Even with that training I failed at the moment you needed me most. I'm the reason you were taken."

"…"

"I know this must be hard to hear. You must be disgusted with me. After all that talk about not running from your problems, and here I am just telling-"

"Are you high?" Corrin interrupted.

"W-what?"

The white haired prince started scratching his head. He was the image of bemused curiosity. "I mean, you were what, six, when I was kidnapped? I'm sorry, but I don't really think a six year old ninja would have made much difference against a Nohr strike force capable of killing the king and his elite guards."

"But…"

"No. You wouldn't have been able to escape with me either. I guarantee that there was Nohrian air support watching from above. Trust me Kaze, all that would have happened if you were there would have been your death." Corrin smiled at the ninja and held out a hand. "Now please, if you're not so intent on wallowing in guilt, maybe instead try doing something about it?"

The green haired ninja sighed. "Is that an order from a prince?"

"No, a request from a friend."

Kaze considered the Nohrian's words before slowly, obediently, kneeling in front of him. "If that is the case, I will accept. I will swear myself to you."

"Oh and Kaze, we are not doing the blood drinking thing. That's disgusting and I will have no part of it."

"The what?"

"Just a really creepy retainer tradition in Nohr. I've seen it done a few times, and it is absolutely vile. Now, you realize what you're giving up. Any chance at reuniting with your mother and family will be lost."

"I am already dead to all but my brother. If there is a chance that I can help make a more peaceful world despite that, then I will take it. If I stay here then all I will ever accomplish is menial guard duty. And in addition, you saved my life. I still owe you for that."

"And you truly think I will bring about peace?"

Kaze looked up, lines of determination etched on his face. "Yes, my prince I do."

"Then let us begin, Kaze, will you swear yourself to me, in all that you say and do?"

"Yes, my prince."

"And will you protect and help me always, so that together we may create a better world?"

"Yes my prince."

"And will you always strive to protect the innocent, even if it means defying either heaven or hell; law or chaos?"

"I- yes my prince."  
Corrin watched as the confusion over the last line left the ninja's features. Truth be told he didn't know why he had added that last bit either, but it seemed important to him for some reason. Shrugging off the feeling, Corrin finished the oath.

"And I promise to you, Kaze, that I will never order you to do something that will infringe upon your values or your honor. In addition I promise to help and standby you for the rest of your days as both your lord and as your friend. If the day ever comes that either of us break this vow, let the other strike him down such that justice may be carried out."

"Yes my prince."

"Then rise Kaze, rise and let us go get breakfast. For I am hungry."

* * *

"A funny joke milord." Kaze stated as he turned to look up at the sky. Events had gone better than he could have imagined. Not only did he convince Corrin to stay, but he had also been made his personal Vassal. Never in his wildest dreams had he thought he would be given a chance to redeem himself, but here he was, the sworn ninja to a prince. A prince, Kaze slowly realized, who was nowhere to be found. "Prince Corrin?" Kaze asked "Where are you, milord!"

Corrin's head popped back through the window. "I told you I'm hungry. All this knighting and philosophy has me beat. Besides, since I'm not going to need you to help me escape anymore, I might as well have you help me choose the best foods to eat for breakfast. Now come on, we can't save the world on an empty stomach."

 _I might have bitten off a bit more than I can chew here._ Kaze wondered with amusement. _Well no matter, at least he's back to his old self. Though I can't be sure if it's an act or not, I think at the very least he's gotten a new perspective on his position. And from now on, I will be there to help in that role. Always. Speaking of which…_

"By the way, now that I am your retainer I'll have to call you milord again." Kaze yelled after the prince.

Chuckling at the large groan that drifted back in response, the ninja followed his friend down to main dining hall.

* * *

Corrin and Kaze left the dining hall an hour later with their stomachs almost full to bursting. As the two stumbled through the door, they came face to face with the queen herself.

"Ahh, Corrin, Kaze, it's so good to see you both!"

"Mother! Good to see you as well."

"Your grace."

Mikoto smiled that knowing smile of hers. "How are you two? Did you enjoy today's breakfast? I understand Hoshidan food is quite different from what you must have had back in Nohr."

"I've grown used to it by now." Corrin replied. "Also Kaze and I snuck into the kitchen and cooked some pork in a more Nohrian style."

"Oh? And what was this food called?"

"Bacon. Your grace, it's quite tasty. However it also seems to make one sluggish and queasy."

"Well I mean, Kaze you had almost twenty pieces…"

The queen reached up and laid a hand on her son's face. "Are you alright? You look a little pale."

"I'm fine." He lied. "Just got up a little early today."

Staring into his eyes for a moment, Mikoto eventually removed her hand and slowly took a step back. "I'm glad. Oh, Azura wanted me to tell you that she was in the gardens. If you have a second you might consider stopping by." She replied with a smile before turning to leave.

"Oh! Also, this afternoon I've set up an assembly in the center of the capitol. I think it's about time you were introduced to the public."

Corrin nodded. "I think that's a fantastic idea. We definitely want to set any doubts to rest before the rumors about me start to flow. I'll be sure to be there."

"I'm glad you agree. Well, I suppose I'll see you later." As she walked away she said in barely more than a whisper. "And Corrin… Please don't take what Kasai said too seriously. He's always been one to let his temper get the better of him. I'm sure that given time you can prove yourself to him. So please… don't be so hard on yourself."

Corrin watched as his mother walked away before turning back to Kaze. "It's so different here."

"How so? Do mothers not comfort their children in Nohr?"

"Of course not, all children are immediately thrown to the wolves." Corrin replied, rolling his eyes. "What I meant was that she is walking around here without any guards. Even in the palace that seems unwise."

Kaze nodded. "Quite. But the queen is not without protection."

"Ninjas?"

"Among other things. And besides, we don't have to worry about any Nohrian incursions."

"Oh?" Corrin asked, confused. "And why is that? I would think that at least a few spies or assassins would be able to sneak past the boarder guards."

"Guards are not our only safeguard. The Queen's magic is a far more powerful and impervious shield."

"You're saying my mother can protect an entire country by herself?" Corrin scoffed.

"Yes, Corrin."

Corrin was surprised but tried to do his best not to show it. If that was true, then it would explain why the two counties hadn't already gone to war despite their differences. But there were inconsistencies as well. For one, hadn't Rinkah and Kaze been kidnapped from across the border? If there was some kind of barrier, that shouldn't have been possible. In addition, during his time in Nohr, Corrin had often heard stories of Hoshido incursions and skirmishes. Heck, he'd even heard about those instances second hand from his siblings. But if there was a barrier, there shouldn't have been a possibility of Nohrian assault. So had his brothers and sisters lied to him? Had Kaze? Or were the Hoshidans more antagonistic than he had been led to believe.

Seemingly picking up on his train of thought, Kaze quickly added. "Recently though, there have been a select few enemies that have been able to pierce the barrier. The one that captured my group was one of those."

Corrin quickly turned to face the ninja. "The one?!"

The green haired ninja solemnly nodded. "Yes, the one. It was a man in a long brown traveling cloak armed with twin blades. Beyond that, I was knocked unconscious before I could get a better look. Though, I think that he was wearing leopard fur on his arms and legs. All I can say for certain is that he moved faster than anything I've ever seen. It almost didn't seem human."

 _That solves one mystery and creates another. Who the heck is this man? And it still doesn't explain my siblings' stories of battle. There's still more to this._ Corrin thought. Regardless this was a new type of threat. If there were soldiers that could take entire squads of Hoshidan elite soldiers alive singlehandedly then the methods for waging war were going to change forever. And not in a good way.

"It seems there's more going on here than I thought. And that's not even talking about, well, you know…"

Kaze nodded, silently understanding Corrin's reference to Valla. There had to be some sort of connection between the events. The barrier, Valla, and the supernatural man, what did they have in common?

 _And now that I think about it, I never did get a chance to ask Lilith about that dream from before. I guess I forgot about in the excitement of the whole throne incident. If it is a result of multiple worlds, then maybe these soldiers Kaze mentioned are product of those as well._

"Kaze, do we know where Lilith is currently?"

"She said she would be going down to the markets today. I think she thought you would chose to leave Hoshido after yesterday's outbursts."

"And I almost did." Corrin remarked. "Well in that case, my mother said Azura was in the gardens right? Why don't we pay her a visit? It's about time we talked to someone who can answer at least a few of my questions."

"Corrin does she know about…"

The white haired prince smiled at the shocked ninja. "That she does Kaze. Though, I actually hope she knows a little more than just that. Anyways, let's go. I don't want to miss her by accident."

* * *

 _You are the ocean's gray waves, destined to seek_

 _Life beyond the shore just out of reach_

 _Yet the waters ever change, flowing like time_

 _The path is yours to climb_

Corrin and Kaze watched as the blue haired songstress finished singing her song. Turning towards the two, Azura smiled. "Hello Corrin, it's wonderful to see you. I'm glad you came."

Returning the smile, the prince felt himself relax as he let the serenity of the gardens envelop him. It was almost midday and the sun had almost finished its daily climb. The soft pitter patter of the waters tickled his ears while the wind caressed his skin. In the distance birds could still be heard echoing Azura's song.

"Me too. Though, I have to admit, when mother said that you wanted to see me, I had no idea it would be in a place this peaceful. It's hard to believe anything terrible could happen in the world when you're surrounded by beauty like this."

"This is one of my favorite places." Azura replied wistfully. "Though, speaking of terrible things, this is the place where we first 'met'."

"Terrible? Why would you say…? Oh. right. I thought I remembered that dock. Haha and here I was feeling hurt for a second. Sorry about that by the way."

"Its fine, I was just teasing you. I know you were confused among other things. Besides, you've already apologized. Now, was there something you wished to discuss or was this merely a personal visit?"

"Weren't you the one who wanted to talk to me?"

The blue haired princess looked confused at that. "But Mikoto said that you had questions for me and that I should wait here for you here. It is possible I might have misheard her though; I had just woken up."

"Weird, she said the same thing about you to me after breakfast. Huh, well no matter." Corrin added with a shrug. "As it turns out I do have some questions to ask you. First off I was wonder-"

"Corrin!" Azura warned looking at Kaze warily. "Don't you think this would be a little better in private?"

"Absolutely not. I trust Kaze. He was with me when-"

"Corrin!" Kaze interrupted urgently. "You can't talk about that here. Don't you remember what Lilith said?"

"Of course I do, I was just going to say-"

"You really ought to be more careful. That was far too close." Azura scolded.

"I told you I wasn't going to-"

"I must agree with the princess, the stakes regarding that subject are simply too high."

"See Corrin, even Kaze agrees that you need to be more cautious."

"You are simply too important to lose."

"ENOUGH!" Corrin roared. Turning back to the now startled princess he continued. "Fine! You want to talk alone? Sure. Whatever it takes to get a word in. Kaze out. Now. Before I push you and the princess into the lake."

Confusion and shame flickered across the ninja's face. Muttering something that sounded like an apology, Kaze disappeared in the flash of a smoke bomb leaving Corrin and Azura alone by the dock.

Still slightly irked, but desperate to break the awkward silence Corrin tried his best to gather his thoughts into words. "So, about my question."

"Right." Azura replied, still a little shell-shocked from his outburst. "You said it didn't have anything to do with your, arrival, correct?"

"Yep. Well, mostly. I was wondering if you knew anything about parallel worlds."

"Parallel worlds?" She verified. Running a hand through her sky blue hair, her golden eyes flickered with confusion. "You mean like the Astral Realms? I have heard of them but I don't know much about them. I'm sorry."

"It's fine." Corrin responded with disappointment before another thought entered his mind. "Then how about premonitions?"

"I've never experienced any myself, but I know of a few people who claim otherwise. You remember Orochi from before?"

"Yes, purple hair and wouldn't stop laughing. She did try to read my fortune now that I think about it. Is that what you mean by claiming otherwise?"

"Yes. Why? Did something happen?"

Running a hand through his hair, Corrin did his best to hide the embarrassment he felt. By the look Azura was giving him however, it seemed he was failing. Finally relenting, he explained. "About a week before I was sent to Bottomless Canyon, I had a really weird dream. In it, Nohr and Hoshido were at war with each other. I saw my siblings from Nohr fighting the people I know now to be my siblings from Hoshido. The strangest thing was that even in the dream, I didn't remember who they were. I was effectively dreaming of a group of strangers. I didn't even make the connection between the dream and reality until I was introduced to Sakura."

Azura remained silent while her eyes bored holes into him. "Has this ever happened before? Have you had other… 'dreams' like this?"

"No. Nothing like this." _Should I tell her about the dream right afterwards? No, not yet. I'm still not sure what that has to do with, well, anything really. Maybe tell her about the other one though._ "I did have one recurring dream as a child however."

"Oh?"

"Yes. But it's… different. I was alone in what I can only describe as a Hoshidan village, though it was surrounded by giant metal monoliths that had to be 180 meters tall with pieces of broken glass on them that must have once been windows. I would look down and see a small figure in grey clothing lying in a pool of blood. After that I hear the growing sound of laughter, a young woman's by the sound of it. Then the dream ends. After that I would wake up covered in sweat."

Azura remained silent for a long time. The two teenagers looked out over the surface of the pond, watching as the bugs and birds danced in the sky above and the clouds drifted by.

"Azura, do you have any idea what they could mean?"

With a somber expression adorning her face, she said. "I'm sorry Corrin. I've never heard of anything like this before. But if it did mean anything, then war is fast approaching. It might even be inevitable. What will you do then? Will you follow the path set down by your birth or will you follow the way of your upbringing? Which is the real you?"

"I- I don't know. I don't think I'll ever know unless, gods forbid, I have to actually make that decision."

"Understandable." She said nodding. Slowly smiling she continued. "If you ever reach that point, please remember, I will never judge you for your decision."

"Which would you chose? Hoshido or Nohr? You're in a similar position to me after all."

"Hoshido, without a doubt."

"You're so sure?"

"Naturally. My time in Nohr was terrible. I would describe it as a living nightmare. I am eternally grateful to my kidnappers for bringing me here."

Corrin wasn't sure how to respond to that. For someone who seemed so put together and calm, it seemed there was a much darker side somewhere beneath the surface. _I can't imagine what that must have been like. For Nohr to scar her that much? She might have had it even worse than Camilla… I wonder if she's still paranoid. Could that be why she made Kaze leave?_

"Hey Azura, why didn't you want Kaze to listen to our conversation?"

"Corrin I… I just don't think that… It's just…" Azura continued to stammer before finally managed to collect her thoughts. "I just don't really believe that trusting too many people is a good thing. It invites disaster."

"Are you sure? That seems like a hard way to live." _So was I right? I can't tell. This paranoia could easily just be a byproduct of the Hoshidan nobles' racism._

"It's safer that way."

Then why trust me?"

"You're different." Azura said as though she were saying what color the sky was or something equally obvious. "Not only do our lives share a great deal of similarities but you've also…you know, seen things. Invisible things."

Nodding in understanding Corrin gazed out across the water. "I guess that's true. Going forward though, please trust me when I say Kaze's alright. He is my retainer after all."

"He's your what?" The princess responded in surprise. "When did this happen?"

"This morning on the roof. We celebrated with bacon afterwards."

"But why?"

"Because bacon is delicious."

"Not that! Why did you make him your retainer?"

Shrugging sheepishly he replied. "To be honest it was kind of spur of the moment. But it builds off of what you were saying before. There is a storm coming and Kaze and I have promised to do our best to fight it. I don't know what that means, but I will do everything I can to try and prevent the coming war."

Looking away Corrin forced himself to continue. "I know this must sound crazy. I've known all of you for less than a month. But I truly do want to keep everyone safe. I don't know what it is that I can do, but I will do my best regardless. No matter the cost."

"Corrin… I"

"Come on. Mother said that today was the day I'd finally be introduced to the public. As much I would rather jump into that lake and fight you know what in you know where, I can't let Mikoto down." Getting to his feet, he began to walk towards the entrance to the gardens. "Now where is that ninja. He has to be somewhere nearby."

* * *

Watching as he left, Azura wondered for a moment just how it was possible that he was still so candid, so optimistic, so… happy. How could he have grown up in the same Nohr she had?

 _To survive in such a terrible place, he truly must have his mother's strength._ Azura thought. _But what was that about his dreams? Mikoto has mentioned before that she has had bouts of future sight in the past, but this is… different. The Queen always described them as feelings or still images, never full on visions. Could it be an ability he inherited from his father? And what was that desert? That didn't sound like Valla or Hoshido, and it definitely wasn't Nohr._

The princess sighed. She took a moment to collect her thoughts and put her worries to rest. Whatever concerns she had could easily be solved with a quick conversation with the Queen. And no matter what Corrin's dreams might have meant, she at least would have time for a conversation later that day.

* * *

Corrin stood in front of a massive marble statue dedicated to the dawn dragon. Like all architecture in Hoshido, it was beautiful and ornate, with gold leaf adorning its edges. Standing higher than most of the buildings in the city, the dragon looked out across the capitol, keeping watch as it safeguarded the faithful. In front of the idol was a square filled to bursting with people.

The Queen stood in front of her children, her arms raised as she addressed her people. Corrin fidgeted with unease. To his left stood Takumi and Sakura while Azura, Hinoka, and Ryoma stood to his right. Kaze and Lilith stood at the edge of the statue with the rest of the royal retainers and attendants.

So far the queen had managed to keep the crowd enthralled with a gripping tale of the events leading up to Corrin's kidnapping. The prince was pleasantly surprised to realize that the Hoshidan public didn't seem to blame him for any of Nohr's recent aggressions. There hadn't even been any mention of the Fire tribe as of yet. He had noticed a couple of odd gazes directed at his clearly Nohrian armor, but no stones had been thrown nor torches lit. Trying his best to keep up a brave face as his mother neared the end of her speech, Corrin felt an unexplainable shiver run down his spine.

"And so it is my pleasure to introduce my long lost son. When he was last here with us, he was but a child. But now, after all of these years, fate has finally seen fit to return him to us. May I present to you, my son, Prince Corrin of Hoshido!"

Forcing a smile the prince stepped forward to sound of thunderous applause cascading on him from all sides. Taking his mother's hand Corrin gave a polite bow to the citizens of Hoshido.

As he raised his head he noticed that a citizen had broken the perimeter around the square. The figure wore a long, brown cloak that fully concealed his features. He was quite tall, over two meters tall. Two swords could be seen poking out from underneath his cloak. He wasn't wearing shoes, instead he had two leopard skinned slippers in the shape of paws.

Recognizing the man's description from Kaze's story, Corrin heard Ryoma call out for the guards to intervene and a squad of ten approached the man. In the blink of an eye there was an explosion of blood and the bodies of the guards were thrown in every direction. The figure, now holding a single blade, dripping crimson, began to move faster, running at the royal family.

Takumi let loose a blast from the Fujin Yumi, its brilliant green shots surging forth at the enemy. Ryoma drew Raijinto and along with Hinoka began to charge, while Sakura and Azura rushed to help evacuate the civilians.

The man, deflected the blasts from Takumi's bow off of his sword, maintaining his charge at the Queen. As the eldest royal children reached him he flipped over them and continued to sprint towards his target.

Drawing his sword, Corrin adopted a defensive posture and prepared to meet his foe. He had already decided that he would only use the dragon or Analyze powers if he absolutely had to. If he were to go unconscious here, there would be no second chance, he would not be sent to a hospital, he would die.

"Mother, get to safety. We'll hold him here."

"Corrin, you can't-"

"Please, go! He's almost here!"

Sighing in relief as he heard the sound of his mother running away from the assailant, Corrin greeted the newly arrived foe with cold focus and determination.

Finally arriving, the figure slowed down to a brisk walk. Stopping in front of the white haired prince, Corrin engaged the enemy, swinging his sword at the man-

 _That won't work._

Corrin nearly tripped as the voice of his other-self, the same voice he had heard the day before in the hospital, rang through his head. In his confusion he barely noticed when the cloaked figure didn't make a movement to stop him, instead merely allowing the iron katana to harmlessly bounce off of his chest. The recoil of the blow reverberated through the sword and up Corrin's arm. It felt as though he had struck a solid pillar of lead. Struggling to recover, all Corrin could do was watch as the figure contemptuously backhanded him with his empty hand. The force of the blow was a hurricane, throwing him ten meters across the square.

Through the fuzziness brought on by the blow, Corrin could make out a voice, old, powerful, and more threatening than anything he had heard before, echo across square.

" **Queen Mikoto of Hoshido. You're death shall be the sacrifice that opens the first seal."**

Looking up, the white haired prince made out the figure of the cloaked man holding up his mother by the neck. "Mother please no!"

 _There's nothing you can do. You must run._

"Shut up! I have to do something!" Corrin yelled. He tried to get to his feet but his legs were still hurt from the hit he had taken. Helpless, the prince was forced to watch as the figure slowly raised the slender form of his blade.

" **Let your soul be enveloped by silence."** The figure said as he plunged the sword through the queen's heart. Time stood still as Corrin watched the surprise flicker over her face. He watched as her eyes flickered over to him, screaming at him to run before they grew dull and lifeless. Letting go of her neck, the man simply let the now dead queen slide off his sword and crumple onto the ground.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAA! Now you die!" Ryoma yelled, letting a bolt of lightning fly forth from his sword.

Whether the man was distracted by his kill or he let the bolt hit him was unknown. But as the smoke from the lightning dissipated, the hood was revealed to have been ripped off, revealing the horror underneath. Instead of a human face, there was the head of a leopard, its animalistic eyes narrowed at the humans around it while the bestial mouth contorted into a thin unnatural smile.

Staring at the samurai with cold determination, the leopard-man drew his second sword. **"You would tempt fate? You fight even though you must know that you cannot win. I commend you on your bravery. As a reward for such virtue, I shall grant your wish."**

Swinging his twin blades in a rapid, complex series of katas the leopard-man stopped in an instant, one blade pointed at the samurai, the other held at a horizontal. Nodding once, the figure motioned with his sword for the royals to come at him.

" **I am the 57** **th** **of the Goetia and a president of Hell. I am the first returned of the Assembly, come again to free the one garbed in chains. I am Ose, of the Fallen. And I accept your duel."**

* * *

 **Author's Note-**

 **Sorry for the delay on this one. Life got busy so this had to take a bit of a back seat for a while, but I should be able to get back to my approximate 9 day or so schedule again.**

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! As usual, if you have questions, critiques, or predictions, please leave a review and I'll do my best to get back to you!**

 **Otaku-Nation666- With Kasai I definitely wanted him to show the rash and quick to anger qualities that I would expect from the leader of the Fire tribe, but looking back I think I may have gone a little too far with it. I'll make sure to try and keep him a bit more realistic next time we see him. Thanks for the help!**

 **Disclaimer- This is a nonprofit, fan-based work. All characters and settings belong to their respective owners.**

 **Next Time- The Hoshidan Royals vs. the Demon Ose.**


	9. Chapter 8: Of Dragons and Demons

Corrin watched helplessly as his eldest brother barely managed to get his sword up in time to block the demon's strike. At this point he was reasonably sure that his leg was broken. Every time he had made an attempt to rise and rejoin the fight he had been unable, though it was beginning to look like he wouldn't get the chance to recover at all. The three royals who were still fighting were clearly out of their league. Ducking and weaving, the demon was a tidal wave of devastation. Knocking aside another of Takumi's blasts with contempt the monster shifted its position to land a kick to Ryoma's sternum, knocking the eldest prince backwards.

"Big Brother!" Sakura yelled as she ran towards Corrin. "Are you all right? You've got to get up, they need your help!"

"I know! I know! My leg's broken, do you think you can heal it?"

"I-I think so. Just give me a second!" Sakura responded before lifting her staff. A soft yellow glow emanated from the scepter and Corrin could begin to feel the throbbing pain leaving his lower limbs. Closing his eyes for a moment as he let the healing do its work, Corrin barely registered the warning shout from Hinoka. As his eyes shot open, Corrin turned in horror to see the leopard demon only a few strides away , clearly meaning to take advantage of the two's current immobility.

Lowering its right sword at the crouching royals, the demon was surprised to find its strike countered by a blast of astral energy. Caught off guard, the demon was left wide open as Kaze and Lilith joined the fray, launching shuriken and astral energy alike at the demon. Seeing an opening, the three other royals attacked with renewed zeal. Takumi managing to land a barrage of bolts into Ose's back while Hinoka and Ryoma surged into close quarters range.

For a moment, it seemed as though the tides had begun to turn. But as Ryoma lowered his blade at the monster's neck, Ose dropped its left hand sword and pivoted, ducking underneath the samurai's strike. Grabbing onto Ryoma's wrist, the demon lifted him up before slamming him full force against the ground. Hinoka shrieked in concern and dive-bombed the demon, only for Ose to kick Ryoma's body up at the princess, knocking the royal off of her Pegasus.

Throughout the entire affair, the three other combatants had held back for fearing of hitting Ryoma. That danger gone, they renewed their assault. Ose backed up a few steps, lazily deflecting Fujin Yumi and astral blasts as he did so. For some reason it didn't seem to care much about Kaze's attacks. The shuriken were allowed to bounce harmlessly off of his chest.

 _It only fears the divine weapons, you and Kaze can't hurt him,_ the voice of the other Corrin, the being who contained his memories, said urgently. _Though, perhaps fear is a bit of a strong way of putting it. 'Annoyed by' would be far more accurate._

"What?" Corrin asked the other him in confusion.

 _Demons are of the supernatural, they are beyond human. Normal weapons won't work unless you have a way to modify your- WATCH OUT!_

Corrin grabbed Sakura and hurled himself out of the way of Ose's most recent strike. Rolling back to his feet, the prince was pleasantly surprised to find that his leg was working again.

"Damn that was close. Sakura, thanks for the save, my legs feel great."

"You're welcome. But be careful, I didn't have enough time to fully heal them!"

Corrin nodded but never took his eyes off Ose, who had turned back to fight off another assault from Kaze, Lilith, and Takumi.

"Now get to safety! And for that matter get the palace guard. Tell them to form a perimeter around the battle but not to engage! As things are I don't think they'd be much help."

"A-all right. I'll have Azura help as well!" the princess replied as she ran desperately in the direction of the palace.

Finding his iron Katana on the ground, Corrin picked up the weapon and ran towards the fight, talking to his other self as he did.

"Now what did you mean? Why can't Kaze or I hurt him? Because if we can't actually win this fight, well, I don't want to think about it."

 _Humans are weak by nature, your spiritual wavelengths just don't cut it. Because of that, conventional attacks won't work on demons. They literally bounce off._

"Is that why it's only making the effort to block Takumi and Lilith?"

 _Yep, they aren't using normal weapons. Best I can figure, the Fujin Yumi is force-based and Lilith is using a REALLY weak almighty attribute attack. Those kinds of magic bypass their mortal limitations. Not that it's doing any noticeable damage…_

Corrin stopped dead in his tracks twenty meters from the fight. "So you're saying there's nothing we can do? There has to be something, anything! Isn't there a way to change our wavelengths?"

 _Of course there is, it just isn't easy. Usually it's done with a Comp- not that you know what that is. There are other methods, but they usually include either a demon's aid or just being born with the ability. Neither of which we have time for right now._

"But I… There has to be-"

 _As you are now, there is nothing you can do. If you enter that fray, you will die._

"No, I don't believe that! I can't!"

 _Then there's nothing I can do for you._

Corrin leapt forward and reentered the battle, calling for Lilith to provide covering fire for his entrance. The prince ducked underneath Ose's first round house swing. Reposting with a stab to the demon's sternum, the blade harmlessly bouncing off. The failed blow left Corrin open for an attack and Ose was more than happy to oblige, pummeling him in the head even as he kicked him back ten meters.

" **Is this all you humans can provide? I'm not surprised, but I must admit I am disappointed.** "

"You want our all? Come and take it!" Takumi yelled as he unleashed a flurry of bolts. Weaving through the energy arrows, Ose was like a dance in his elegance. Though, a few of the bolts managed to graze his hide, none were strong enough to do any lasting damage.

As the demon's attention was lingering on the archer, a now recovered Hinoka returned to the fight on foot, swinging her Naginata and blocking a sword swipe aimed at Kaze. Trying to take advantage of the recoil, Lilith and Corrin attacked in tandem, striking from opposite directions.

Shrugging off the attacks, Ose seemed to chuckle before raising its right sword. An orange light began to grow around the metal, eventually becoming a star amidst the battle field. Lowering the blade in a lightning fast motion, a blast of energy erupted from the impact and blasted the defiant royals and allies, scattering them like leaves in the wind.

Corrin looked up as he slowly clawed his way to his feet. The words 'heat wave' were drilling its way into his consciousness and he could only assume that was the name of the attack the demon had used, remembered from a life long past. Not that that could help him. There was only one thing he could think to do as the demon stood there in arrogance. Content to watch its prey fumble and stagger as they feebly attempted to get back onto their feet.

" **You have my thanks, humans. Even if this battle was brief, any respite from our preparations is much appreciated. For what it is worth, you have been good sport.** "

"Go…" Hinoka coughed out blood, but continued. "…to hell."

 _I don't have a choice,_ Corrin thought in desperation. _I have to use it. Hopefully I'll be able to last long enough to tell the others about any weaknesses I find._

 _That's essentially a death sentence…_ his other-self countered.

"Shut up! I don't have a choice here...," Corrin retorted, his voice cracking in frustration. "It's the only way any of them have a chance. If my death will give them a chance… well, then it's worth it. Analyze!"

 _Expel, Death, and Ailment Affinity- Null. Mind, Curse, and Nerve Affinity- Resist. Other Affinities- Normal. Level- 40. Clan- Fallen._

"But what are the weaknesses?" Corrin asked desperately, "What can hurt it?"

 _Other Affinities- Normal._

"No, that's- what are its weaknesses?" Corrin asked again, begging at this point.

 _Other Affinities- Normal._

"WHAT CAN I USE TO HURT IT?!"

 _Other Affinities- Normal._

"I… but then… Is it really?" Corrin asked, ignoring the pain shooting up his arms as they began to go haywire and transform uncontrollably.

There wasn't anything they could do. If what the voice said was true, if what the analysis said was true, they were doomed. Best case scenario they would run out of energy before suffering a quick death at Ose's swords, maybe make a mistake or get clipped by lucky hit. Worst case, the demon decided to play with his food before finishing it off. Falling to his knees in resignation, Corrin looked up one last time at what was rapidly becoming clear was his killer.

Corrin closed his eyes and smiled forlornly as tears began to drip down his face. In a way it was kind of liberating. No more worrying about the fate of the two kingdoms. No more worrying about reconciling the two parts of his two identities. No more mysteries. No more pain. It had all been for nothing. All of his hard work, his dreams, nothing had come of it. There was a finality to it, the likes he hadn't felt since… since…

Since Kagutsuchi's death.

 _Why should I have to die here?_ Corrin thought, fighting against the calm and once more trying to rouse himself to arms. A strangely potent feeling of defiance cleansed him as he wiped his face clear and replaced his smile with a scowl. _Why does it all end here? If only I was stronger… If only I could…_

The white haired prince clenched his fingers into a bloody fist, forcing the draconic transformation to disappear and recede back into his being. Through sheer force of will it obeyed, though the prince could still feel the power ever present and almost eager to take over. Rising first to a knee and then to a slumped standing position, the prince slowly began to stumble toward the waiting demon.

Instinct drove the prince, a primal feeling deep in his gut. It wormed and swam inside him like a foreign parasite that had awoken, born of his rage.

 _Ose…_

The demon turned toward the figure and nodded. " **So you wish to die on your feet? Very admirable. I will grant you that much, human. Take solace that you will soon join your mother in eternal silence.** "

 _Arete…_

The feeling of his fist being repelled by her magic shield shot into his mind. The anger, the confusion, and the hurt from the failed attack still tactile inside his soul.

 _The Demifiend…_

The feeling of invulnerability as the fiend walked through a hail of shrapnel, the metal and stone repulsed by his very skin.

The voice of his alternate self whispered one last thought to the prince as the demon came at him, both swords leveled for a death blow. _Go on… Do it. Just let it flow._

" **Good bye, human of Hoshido.** "

Corrin raised his head and looked the demon in the eyes. For him, they were alone. Nothing existed outside of this singular, solitary moment. And as the blades and the death that they carried came closer and closer, Corrin gave words to the thoughts that had taken hold of his being, the words taken from a memory long, long past.

"Phys Repel- Equip."

Power primal and unknowable surged through the prince's veins even as something deep within his body screeched in abstract triumph. To Corrin however, the feelings were detached. His mind was focused and razor sharp, strangely devoid of all the pain and exhaustion that had been consuming him since the start of the battle. But now was not the time to consider such things. To him, all that mattered were the two swords coming at him. Getting closer, and closer, and closer, they eventually pierced his skin…

And then stopped.

Ose's eyes widened in surprise before transforming to shock as the blades ripped themselves out of the prince, seemingly of their own accord, before turning back on their master and plunging deep into the demon's own body. Howling in agony as he tried to rip his swords out of his flesh, Ose didn't notice Corrin slowly stagger forward. Picking up one of Kaze's discarded throwing knives, Corrin grasped it with both hands and with all of his might, plunged it into the back of the demon.

He half expected it bounce off like all the rest. Instead when metal met fur, the fur melted as though it was butter and the knife slid home. Ose's howls of pain quickly turned to screams at the new source of agony. The demon quickly lashed out in instinct, trying desperately to knock away the source of his strife. Unfortunately, Corrin's shield was still in effect and all the attack did was knock Ose head over heels into the center of the arena.

Forcing himself to stand despite the pain, the demon narrowed his gaze onto the white haired prince. " **You… you are not… What are you? How are you able to hurt me? You were not this strong before. If you were, then I would not have been able to kill your mother. My swords tasted your flesh normally before, but now they can only scratch. Explain.** "

"I don't have to explain anything to you, monster," Corrin shot back, forcing his voice to remain calm despite the fatigue now beginning to spread through his body. The liquid fire that had spawned from the activation of the ability was now merely a cinder. Worse, he could begin to feel the draconic power he had suppressed beginning to awaken once again, and by the way it felt, this would be much, much more dangerous an outburst than any prior. He doubted he'd be able to repel the demon again, but now…

 _Now I can hurt him,_ Corrin thought. _I was able to modify my wavelength. But why is that?_

 _I already told you… A demon can modify a human's wavelength. So wouldn't it make sense for a demon to be able to change his own?_ the other him asked in a tone that made Corrin think he was trying very hard not to laugh.

" **Hmm, no, no. On second thought, I don't need your explanation, human. Your scent changed, if only for an instant. It was something that felt… nostalgic, though I am unable to place it. But it is gone now. All that remains is your scent from before, albeit with a small taint. I should be able to kill you now.** "

Rising to his feet, the demon picked up one of his fallen swords and brandished it towards Corrin. " **Before this was a game to be played. There was no doubt of my victory. That has changed. You have changed. I will no longer hold back. Make no mistakes, even in my weakened state I am more than strong enough to kill you**."

And then once more the demon came, though this time with a significant limp to his stride. Crossing the distance between them, the demon was suddenly engulfed in a flash of white lightning that rained down from above. Howling in pain a third time the demon turned to see Ryoma flanked by Sakura and Azura. In the confusion, the two had managed to make their way to the high prince and bring him back from the brink of death. Behind the trio stood the entirety of the Hoshidan royal guard, armed to the teeth with bows, puppets, and scrolls. Among their ranks were the retainers for all of the royals as well as Orochi and Yukimura. It would seem that they had decided to ignore Corrin's request and instead meet the demon responsible for killing their queen face-to-face. Glaring down at the demon. The samurai raised his sword skyward, calling down another bolt to incinerate the monster.

Growling though the pain, Ose forced itself to its feet once more and began to advance on the newly arrived army, raising its sword to the heavens as it did.

Knowing that it planned to use heat wave again, Corrin desperately tried to think of a way to counteract the attack. The best way of course would be to hit the demon first, but that wasn't possible for the army because they only had regular wavelengths. He had been able to change his own because of his connection to the demon, to the Demifiend, but the rest of them? What kind of a connection did they have?

 _They have you. Don't they?_

Corrin opened his mouth and closed it as realization hit him like a horse drawn carriage. "Oh."

This time there was no attempt to hide the voice's amusement and laughter. _Now you get it. Took you long enough. By the way, I'll see you soon, enjoy your nap._

Ignoring the rather cryptic voice in his head, Corrin reached out his right hand towards the group arranged in opposition to Ose. Forcing himself to remain calm, he looked inside himself and tried to call forth that power he had used mere moments before. Finding an ember of the liquid like fire that had filled his veins, the prince stoked it, focused on it, trying to breathe new life into it. After a few moments it had swelled to a minuscule amount, but it would have to do. Ose continued to walk towards the army, shrugging off lightning, astral blasts, and Fujin Yumi bolts as he did. By the glow around its weapon, heat wave was almost done charging.

"RYOMA!"

"Corrin?"

"FIRE! FIRE EVERYTHING WE HAVE RIGHT NOW! QUICKLY!"

Though startled, Ryoma none the less responded with the reactions of a warrior. "ALL MEN FIRE!"

As the entirety of the Hoshidan honor guard let loose their last, desperate barrage, Corrin reached out with the tiny remnants of his new and untested power, changing and contorting the wavelengths of the soldiers present trying to lift them even just a little bit closer to Ose's level.

There was a cloud of smoke as hundreds of arrows, spells, and other weaponry cascaded into the demon. Squinting through the murk, Corrin desperately looked for any signs of the demon's demise even as the pain of holding back his draconic side became almost too much to bear.

* * *

Ryoma stood and warily kept watch for any signs of life. Though no human could have survived that onslaught, the high prince had learned that this abomination was far from human. Slowly, in an instant that felt like an eternity, the wind blew away the dirt and revealed the demon. Though still on its feet, it was riddled with arrows, its fur burnt and clotted together at points. It was the picture of defeat. Coughing up blood the demon leaned forward onto one its blades for support. Looking around one last time, it seemed to chuckle to itself.

" **This was… unexpected. I am… impressed that you were able to not only survive me, but also to repel me. Live your lives with the knowledge and pride that you managed to stand against a demon. But make no mistake. This is hardly over. A day will come soon when the screams of your very souls will reverberate across time and space. On that day you will curse your defiance, as a death here and now would have been a thousand times more merciful.** " Ose turned back towards Corrin and let loose a long, low growl. " **And to you, white-haired prince, we will meet again. I suggest you make sure you are aptly prepared. If when we next meet you have not mastered that power of yours, I will bring you back to my master… as a… trophy?** "

Following the demons gaze, Ryoma was startled to see an ominous red glow radiating out from his younger brother. As the crimson light began to grow in intensity so did a faint rumbling in the ground. Starting as small as to be mistaken for the pains of weariness, but growing at a startling rate, it was soon an earthquake. As multiple members of the assembled honor guard lost their footing and fell to the shaking terrain, Ryoma watched as the ruby light condensed and his brother became the epicenter of a fantastic explosion.

The resounding shockwave cascaded through both the Hoshidan warriors as well as the demon. As the prince and his allies forced themselves to their feet, the light faded to reveal a spectral figure in place of Corrin. Grey, bat-like wings unfolded to a colossal wing span comparable to the arm span of five men. Like a marionette being snapped to position, the beast pulled itself to its feet. Each limb had two joints and the same draconic claws Corrin had used on the training field the previous day. A spiked tail snaked behind the dragon, quivering slightly as it moved to its standing position. It was then that Ryoma finally got a look at the creature's head. It had no face. All it had was a smooth plate, almost as if all the features had been smoothed over or filled in. The only other features at all were the two horns of a stag connected over the plate-like face with a two growths that resembled the bottom jaw of an animal. There was also a faint, hairline crack running down the left side of the dragon's face, resembling the small, spiderlike fractures found in broken glass. Beneath this radiated an ever-present blue light, which though small, seemed to be growing ever stronger.

The jaw and horns moved by themselves as the dragon lowered itself off its hind legs and let out a soul rending cry before charging at the fallen demon.

Ose threw itself out of the way as the dragon careened through the spot it had been an instant earlier, the horns ripping the stone apart as it passed. Turning with the elegance of a dancer, the dragon came back at the demon who had somehow managed to draw his sword. Lowering his arm, Ose's blade ripped into the dragon's flesh. Crying out in pain, Corrin's tail whipped out around and plunged into the demon's leg.

Howling, Ose lifted the dragon up and hurled him across the plaza. After limping for a step, the demon ran after the dragon, blood still dripping from its sword.

Startled and unsure of what to do, a few of the Hoshidan soldiers began to let loose arrows at the pair, only stopping after a desperate cry from Sakura and Hinoka. Watching the weapons arc down towards their target, Ryoma was horrified to see that once again the projectiles bounced off of the leopard demon without leaving so much as a scratch. Even worse though, they did not bounce off of the dragon, instead lodging inside his brother's flesh and eliciting an unearthly scream.

"All men, hold your fire!" Ryoma ordered. "Takumi, Lilith, you two are with me. Let's go."

His younger brother looked at him in shock. "You want to get in their way?! We'll get annihilated! And besides what are we even supposed to do?"

"My lord, with all due respect we can't just leave him," Kaze interjected, with Lilith nodding her agreement at his side. "Regardless of what he looks like that is still Corrin and we _need_ to help him."

"I know that. Gods I know that," Ryoma replied. "But please think for a second. Before we got started- DOWN NOW!"

They barely had enough time to react and jump out of the way as Corrin's draconic form was thrown at them, barreling past them and colliding into the Honor Guard's ranks.

Struggling to his feet the dragon let out a cry once more as Ose stalked forward with a blade in its hand. Watching Corrin shake his head as though to clear it, Ryoma noticed just how much damage the injured demon had managed to inflict in the brief time they had been battling. Once-pristine silver scales were cracked and scarred. One of his horns was gone and a sharp stump was in its place. The tail didn't seem to move as fluidly as it originally had. Instead its movement was plagued with small twitches and deviations as the muscles inside of it struggled and cried out for relief.

Not that demon looked any better. Ose was even worse for wear than before. Injuries from before were joined by claw marks and deep gouges that had no doubt been ripped out by the dragon's tail. Corrin's missing horn was lodged in the demon's abdomen and a thick stream of blood was slowly seeping out.

" **Dragon. Human. Whatever you may be,"** the demon muttered. Ryoma noticed an edge to its voice that simply hadn't been there before. " **I know not which tribe sent you to spite me. Nor do I care. But I'm afraid this will have to wait until another time. More likely than not that moment will never come as I'm sure my master will send others to finish-** "

Once more Corrin interrupted the monster. Moving low across the ground the dragon swerved from side to side like a serpent. Grabbing the demon's sword hand with a draconic claw, Corrin used his right wing to strike the demon's torso while simultaneously whipping his tale around Ose's legs. The combined attack tripped up Ose, flipping it onto the ground.

Straddling Ose, Corrin held down the monster and raised his tail for the killing blow. Growling back at the dragon, the demon dodged the first strike aimed at his head before kicking the beast off of him. As the dragon scrambled back to his feet Ose closed the distance between them and plunged his sword down, through the dragon's shoulder and deep into the ground.

Howling in agony, Corrin beat his wings, using the resulting gale to push the demon back. Managing to keep its footing, an unarmed Ose slowly looked from Corrin to the Hoshidan soldiers to his wounds and then back to Corrin.

For a moment it seemed to Ryoma that the demon was going to say something, even opening its mouth for a second. In the end though, the demon kept its silence. With one last glare of disdain Ose raised one of its hands and there was a flash of blue light. Holding up a hand to protect his eyes, when Ryoma looked back he was shocked to find that the demon had disappeared without a trace. All that was left were the brave warriors who had fought Ose, a ruined statue of the dawn dragon, the howling form of his brother, and the dead body of their mother.

"I-is it over?" Sakura asked with a hint of trepidation in her voice.

"I believe so," Hinoka answered. "Ryoma, we have to go help Corrin. Even in that form, nothing can take a stab wound like that without medical attention for long."

Ryoma nodded. "Sakura follow me but stay close."

"Y-yes big brother."

"I'm coming as well," Azura interjected.

"All right, fine," Ryoma replied, too tired at this point to argue any further. Perhaps the magic behind her dancing would help the healing process. "Takumi, Hinoka, establish a perimeter. I doubt we'll have any more problems but…"

Takumi grimaced. "But you want to make sure there are no more unwanted surprises. Don't worry, I've got it."

As the second prince deployed the honor guard around the ruined plaza, the three royals slowly walked towards the dragon.

The beast was still screaming. Unearthly howls resonated and repeated, coming from nowhere and everywhere all at once. Motioning for his sisters to stay a safe distance, the samurai cautiously approached the dragon. Ducking under a wild swing from the dragon's wing, Ryoma ripped the sword from out of the ground, freeing his brother.

He didn't have a second to congratulate himself on that achievement, as Corrin immediately knocked the samurai away with a swing of his tail. Letting out another cry the dragon turned on the two princesses with a savage taint to his movement. He was a feral cat about to strike at his prey. But this time it wasn't a demon he was fighting. It would only take one pounce to kill.

"SAKURA! AZURA!" Hinoka cried from the edge of the plaza. But there was nothing she could do. There was nothing anyone could do. No one was close enough to help. They had all thought Corrin would revert after removing the sword, or at the very least that he had been on their side. But now it appeared that the dragon was consumed by his own fury.

Lowering down to the ground the dragon prepared to move. Ryoma was forced to watch helplessly as-

 _You are the ocean's gray waves, Ahhhahhhhahhhh…_

Azura's voice flowed around the group, bringing with it a beautiful serenity. The dragon faltered, picking up his head and appearing to look at the songstress. Smiling softly, the blue haired princess walked towards the dragon arms outstretched. As she walked she began to sing again, starting softly but with her voice rising with every step.

 _You are the ocean's gray waves, destined to seek_

 _Life beyond the shore just out of reach_

Corrin backed away from her, releasing a cry of pain as he did and for a second it seemed to Ryoma that the princesses' song seemed to be working. The dragon's movements were becoming more and more sluggish and weighed down. The grace he had carried in his fight with Ose gone, replaced by the tentative caution of a cornered animal. Turning his head away from the singer, Corrin tried to hide behind his wings, anything to get away from the song.

But it was at this point that Ryoma noticed the light. The pale blue light seeping out of the crack on the dragon's face had faded. In its place was a sickly yellow glow. And out from the cracks blue lines had begun to crawl out across the dragon's skin. The lines moved in very odd motions, they were mostly straight but curved at uneven intervals. They looked similar to those of the flame tribe, the kind used in rituals. In addition the dragon's cries of pain and been replaced with an eerie silence.

An instinct deep at Ryoma's core warned him that this had to stop. Stumbling to his feet for what felt like and might very well have been the fiftieth time that day, Ryoma choked out his warning. "Azura! No! Stop!" Running at his sister, the prince was shocked when he was knocked back by a ring of water that seemed to come from nowhere. Miraculously he kept his footing even though he had been blasted back over ten meters. Looking back with a melancholy expression, Azura turned once more towards the dragon and continued to sing her song.

 _Yet the waters ever change, flowing like time_

 _The path is yours to- AHHH!_

The princess was swept off her feet as a yellow sphere of light streaked down from the overcast skies and barreled into the side of her face. Bouncing in what might have been a satisfied fashion, the orb slowly approached the dragon.

Ryoma could only watch as the yellow light came to a stop in front of the monster that had been his brother. For a second he thought he could hear the soft sound of a woman's voice before the dragon cautiously lowered its wings and faced the orb.

Keeping his eyes on the dragon, Ryoma crept towards Sakura who had joined Azura and was now tending to the bruise that decorated her cheek. A gift from the orb of light.

"Big brother what is that?"

"I- I don't know."

Azura held her tongue, merely content to watch the interaction playing out in front of her.

Two small hands, each the size of a coin, reached out from the orb and up towards the heavens. Again the voice of a woman was heard. A brilliant golden light encircled the beast, growing in intensity with every second. It was similar to the power Sakura could call with her rod, but a thousand times more potent. Upon reaching its climax there was a sudden flash of light and for an instant the dragon's form was impossible to make out.

Blocking their eyes until the glow faded, the trio were shocked by the scene that appeared from the luminescence. The dragon stood strong once more. The cuts and gouges that Ose had ripped into Corrin's flesh had completely vanished. Once more his tail flowed and moved in its original liquid like motion. Even his horn that had been broken and left in Ose's body was once again standing proud upon the dragon's head. Letting out a triumphant cry, Corrin spread his wings and stood on his hind legs with an air of victory. Ryoma also noticed that the blue lines and yellow glow that had radiated from the cracks on the dragon's face had reverted to its original pale blue light.

Bouncing around the orb of light swirled around as if it was sharing in the dragon's cries of victory, only to dart to the side as a bolt of lightning came down from the skies. Startled, Corrin fell backwards, and rolled to his left. Looking up at the sky with a growl.

Azura quickly turned to her brother. "Ryoma, what are you doing? Why would you…"

"That- wasn't me," Ryoma said, confusion etched on his face. "I don't know where that came from."

The orb buzzed around angrily for a moment and Ryoma thought he saw the tiny hands emerge for a second in the shape of fists. However as another bolt missed it by only a few centimeters the orb seemed to relent.

Flying over to the dragon's head, the orb touched where the forehead would have been affectionately before disappearing in a flash of blue light not unlike the one Ose had used to escape.

Getting to her feet, Azura began to walk towards the dragon yet again. Ryoma, with his sword in hand joined her. He could sense somehow that his brother's rage had at least been slightly reduced by the orb's intercession. Yet this day had already had its share of unpleasant surprises and Ryoma kept his sword drawn just in case.

Letting out a sad cry at the absence of the orb of light, Corrin turned towards the two figures approaching him. Seeing Azura, his body stiffened, and in an instant he pounced at the two. Knocking Ryoma to the side, the dragon grabbed the princess's neck and forced her to the ground. Raising his tail in the same fashion he had attempted to kill Ose with, Corrin growled at the princess, daring her to sing again.

Azura looked up without flinching. It seemed to Ryoma that the fear of death had completely left her body. And as he tried to think of a way to somehow save her, he heard her speak in a clear emphatic voice.

"Kill me if you want. But, please, do it as yourself.

Lowering his tail, and cocking his head as though he were considering her words, Corrin slowly backed off of the princess and took a few steps backwards. Clutching his heads with his claws the crimson light began to reappear around the dragon as he slowly began to transform again.

* * *

Corrin looked down at his hands. They were no longer lined with silver scales, instead once more they were color of flesh. Human flesh.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Corrin jumped to his feet as he began to realize just what he had done while transformed. Seeing Azura's broken form on the ground he dashed over to her.

"Azura! Are you okay? I'm so sorry- I didn't- I didn't…"

She smile weakly. "Please don't worry. I'm fine. It's nothing I won't recover from."

"Corrin, Azura!" Ryoma shouted as he approached. Looking at his brother he asked. "How are you feeling? Are you all right?"

Corrin forced a tired smile. "I'm fine. I don't know what happened. I guess for a second I lost control for a few minutes." Turning to survey the broken cityscape surrounding them and taking note of the relatively small number of causalities, he continued. "Though, it would appear that we won at least. Somehow."

"What was that thing?"

Corrin shrugged. "A demon I guess. Unless you have a better explanation."

"Nothing comes to mind. But where do we go from here? If the Nohrians have soldiers like that, then-"

"I sincerely doubt that was Nohrian." Corrin interrupted. "I know what you all think about Nohr here, but I'm telling you that we are not like that!"

"We? Corrin, our mother is dead! You can't seriously-"

"Ryoma," Azura interjected, "we have a visitor."

Turning away from his brother, Corrin was surprised to see what looked like courier standing in front of them. A hawk was on his shoulder, the pouch for messages on the bird's legs empty. "My prince, we just received word. A Norhrian army has invaded our western border."

Corrin paled as he heard the man relay his message. It made sense of course. The barrier was down. Hoshido was vulnerable. But how could the Nohrian army have assembled so quickly?

Ryoma was right. Ose was… it had to be acting on someone's orders. Someone from Nohr. But, who? Who would make a deal with such a monster?

Corrin clenched his fists as he watched Ryoma begin to make preparations to go meet the incursion into his lands. In fact he was watching with such an intensity that he didn't notice as a golden colored piece of metal began to slowly rise from the broken statue that had dominated the plaza.

* * *

 **Author's Note-**

 **Thank you very much for reading! If you have questions, critiques, or predictions, please leave a review and I'll do my best to get back to you!**

 **Otaku-Nation666- I hope the fight lived up to your expectations!**

 **vampireharry the 2- Thank you! I hope this one satisfied you as well!**

 **Guest- We'll just wait and see what happens...**

 **Disclaimer- This is a nonprofit, fan-based work. All characters and settings belong to their respective owners.**

 **Next Time- On the road again.**


	10. Chapter 9: Preparations

Chapter 9

"Iago."

The advisor resisted the urge to look up at the ruler, instead choosing to keep his gaze fixed firmly upon the ground. It wouldn't do to give anything away after everything had gone so well, for the most part anyway. "My king. How may I be of service?"

"Reports are beginning to filter in from my spies. Reports about just how the queen of Hoshido met her end. Would you care to explain?" There was a dangerous edge to the king's voice, and for a second Iago almost felt as if the two of them were nowhere near as alone as he believed them to be. It was almost as though there was a presence in the room with them, watching and waiting from the shadows.

"Of course. Your grace, as I promised my soldier has annihilated all traces of the Hoshidan witch's barrier. Even now, Prince Xander leads our forces across the Bottomless Canyon in a glorious march to rain fire upon those filthy dogs who have carried out hit and run raids on our country for years. Soon, our people will finally have the vengeance they have wished for. Soon, we will take Hoshidan resources and finally be able to feed our people. Prosperity is near, and it is because of my soldier."

The King remained quiet. Though he still did not dare look up, Iago could almost feel his eyes boring into him. "Iago… Your rhetoric is… amusing."

He knew he shouldn't ask. Hell, it would probably be fatal to ask, but ask he did all the same. "Rhetoric your grace? I merely relay the will of the people-"

"You relay what you believe I wish to hear." Garon interrupted. "In addition you are continuing to doge the question we both know that I'm really interested in. Now tell me Iago, what question do you think that is?"

"…"

"Nothing? Well, perhaps this will help you find your tongue. My spies tell me that your soldier was no soldier. They say that that this 'soldier' was a monster, a demon some of them are even calling it. A leopard that walks like a man. A being that was all but impervious to steel or flame. A being that waded through Hoshidan soldiers as if they weren't there." The king rose from his throne and brought his ax down to meet the floor with a thunderous clash. "Do you have any explanation for this heresy? For this blasphemy against the buried dragon? Against Anankos?!"

Iago finally looked up, meeting the king's eyes. The purple orbs radiated power that the advisor was almost certain did not entirely belong to him. It was a certainty at this point, the pair were not alone. _So this will be the turning point then?_ Iago thought with determination. _It is at this moment I will either pave the way to my inevitable victory or I will dig my own grave. Please, give me strength._ "Your grace. I beg you to please accept my most humble apologies. It was never my intention to commit such a grievous sin. I sought only to do the will of the forgotten god."

"Oh?" Garon asked as he began to descend the stairs preceding his throne. "And just how do you figure that? By all means Iago, explain."

"The demon was a means to an end. Its only purpose was to carry out the will of Anankos. To bring glory to his name was my only desire. I swear it."

The king chuckled and finally came to a stop in front of Iago. Crouching over so that he was right next to the advisor, Iago could feel the King's breath against the side of his ear. "You know, Iago? The demon I could forgive. If anything it's almost cute. Like a faceless with just a little more bite to it. Compared to the power I wield it's insignificant. Meaningless. However." The king leaned even closer until he was only a few centimeters away. "You failed to kill my son."

Garon stood up and walked back towards the throne, stopping on the first step and looking upwards at the statue of a dragon that adorned the ceiling of the throne room. "Corrin's usefulness died when he fell into the Bottomless Canyon. His only purpose was to bring the Ganglari to Hoshido and thus open the way. However." Garon turned back to Iago. "Even then he was not supposed to live passed this point. Did you not see what he was able to do? By all reports it was by his hand that your demon was repelled. And he is still but a child! If he should reach adulthood…"

The king let the sentence hang in the air as he continued to examine the advisor kneeling before him. The intent was obvious. _So that is your game. You would keep me perpetually seeking redemption? Fine! I'll play your game, 'your grace'! But please, try not to be so disappointed when your master's plan comes crashing down…_ Though these thoughts blazed through Iago's skull, he kept them under strict wraps. Instead he responded with a desperate, quivering tone. "Your grace, I promise you that I will fix this atrocious mistake! Just say the word and I will have that brat assassinated. You can rest assured I will not fail you again!"

Garon chuckled yet again. "I appreciate your zeal, Iago. But it would seem that your offer may be too little too late."

"Your grace?"

"You don't know? Once again I am disappointed Iago, though I suppose you must have been busy attending to your demon."

"As you know your grace, Ose did suffer quite substantial damage from the assault. It took a very large amount of time and energy to stabilize it." In reality it had taken less than a minute to heal Ose, with a simple Diarama spell doing most of the work. Still, it didn't hurt to use such a convenient excuse, especially when the explanation for what Iago had actually been doing probably would have been rather poorly received.

"Naturally." Garon continued. "Well in that case, allow me to enlighten you. Corrin is currently on his way to the front lines of the inevitable confrontation between the Nohrian and Hoshidan armies. He is accompanied by the Hoshidan royal family. Or what's left of it anyway."

Iago smiled for the first time since he entered the throne room. "So when Corrin arrives on the scene…"

"When the boy arrives with the Hoshidan royals, he will branded as a traitor and summarily executed by the very family that raised him. Ha, perhaps it would have been more merciful if your demon had killed him. Eh Iago?"

Corrin looked around the carriage for what must have been the fiftieth time that morning. Unsurprisingly, nothing had changed.

The wagon still only let in a fraction of the fading afternoon sunlight through the barred windows. The walls were still the color of cherry wood. It was still cluttered to the top with weapons and supplies, with only the barest amount of room left for the trio riding inside. And every time there was a bump it was a tossup whether or not some random sword would come crashing down and threaten to skewer one of the occupants. And the golden sword sitting in Corrin's lap still felt warm and soothing to the touch.

The Yato; that was what Ryoma had called the weapon that had flown out of the rubble of the statue to the Dawn Dragon. Becoming a spinning arc of light hurtling through the sky, the sword had come to a rest only upon Corrin's catching it, much to the awe and shock of his compatriots.

"That- that's not possible. The Yato!"

Corrin looked at Ryoma in confusion. "The Yato? You mean this sword? I have to say I'm a bit more confused by the fact that it can fly than its name..."

Ryoma shook his head and looked back at the golden sword. "You don't understand. This is not merely another sword. This is a divine blade, of the same type as my own Raijinto and Takumi's Fujin Yumi. I thought it was merely a legend. Its appearance must be fate-"

"Hold it." Corrin interrupted. "Are you telling me that this sword, a 'divine' weapon as you call it, chooses to appear only AFTER the fight with the demon is over? A demon, I may remind you, which for the first segment of the fight, was only vulnerable to divine weapons!"

"Are you serious?!" Takumi replied, eyes wide with anger. "You get chosen by a legendary weapon and the first thing you do is insult it?!"

"Well ya," Corrin deadpanned. "We almost died. The sword wouldn't have done much good for us if we had been killed. That being said… I'm not exactly one to hold a grudge." Corrin held up the sword to the light to examine it. Though it was unadorned, with only four empty inlets lining the blade and the claws that served as guard and pummel to serve as any form of decoration, there was still a strange allure to it. Its golden sheen seemed to give off an aura of warmth. It brought a sense of serenity, though it was the type of calm that always preceded a storm. The type of stillness that one forces on themselves out of the desperate fear that they might never feel it again. "If this blade wants to prove itself to me, then I do believe I'll give it that chance. Though I swear, if you run off the next time we fight a demon…"

The prince sighed and pushed the memories from his mind. As much a victory that defeating the demon had been, the loss they had suffered was still agonizingly greater. The Queen, Corrin's mother whom he had just remembered and been reunited with, was dead. Murdered at the hands of an inhuman monster. No matter what anyone said or did, he doubted that the pain from that, the feelings of shame and weakness, would ever truly go away.

"Corrin!" a voice yelled out, dragging Corrin back to reality.

"Hmm?"

Kaze sighed. "Milord, we were just discussing our position."

"We are going to battlefield after all," Lilith added. "Between our world's two superpowers no less. If we mess up… well it wouldn't be fun milord."

Corrin nodded. "Point taken. So where are we currently?"

The two vassals shared an exasperated glance before looking back at the prince. "That's the main issue Corrin," Kaze started "we can't start this without your decision. I know back at the castle we had spoken about trying to establish peace between our two separate countries…"

"But that's no longer possible." Lilith finished. "By the time we arrive on the scene battle will have probably already broken out. The Hoshidans will be enraged due to the death of your mother. Meanwhile the Nohrians are either out for blood due to your kidnapping or because of the anti-Hoshidan propaganda that's been circulating in Nohr for the past ten years. Nothing we can do will make any difference."

"I know but-"

"Milord- Corrin. I know how you feel about this. I know this must be tearing you apart inside. But you have to realize, you aren't alone in this! Lilith and I will support you no matter which path you choose, but if you can't make that choice, it won't just be your life that's forfeit."

"Milord," Lilith whispered, placing a hand on shoulder. "Remember as well, your choice will have a definitive impact on the morale of both sides as well, especially for the Hoshidans. It was largely your actions that managed to save them from Ose. If you were to choose Nohr-"

The trio were interrupted by the feeling of their cart coming to a stop. Getting to his feet and preparing for the worst, Corrin opened up the back of the carriage. Taking a step outside, the prince found not the Hoshidan army preparing for war, but instead their caravan beginning to prepare their camp for nightfall.

"Looks like we have a bit of a reprieve," Corrin muttered. "Hey guys, let's try to find a spot off to the side. I think we'll have a lot to discuss tonight."

Kaze nodded before leaving to survey the surrounding area, leaving Lilith and Corrin to begin unpacking their supplies from the carriage. They had almost finished, when they were approached by a familiar, blue-haired songstress.

"Hmm? Oh, hello Azura. How are you?"

"Good evening, Corrin. Might you spare a second? I'd like to speak to you in private."

Corrin glanced over at Lilith. "Would you mind finishing up here?"

"Of course milord! You can count on me!"

Chuckling before turning back to Azura, Corrin continued. "All right, I guess we're all set. Shall we find somewhere quiet?"

"Yes lets."

"You have any ideas?

"Hmm, I might."

"Then by all means lead the way."

After a brief walk in silence, the two royals came to a small pond, isolated from the camp by the surrounding forest. Save for the songs of the birds and the croaks of the frogs the two were completely alone.

"You certainly have a fondness for water."

Azura nodded. "I've always found it soothing."

"Aren't you worried though? Water could serve as a portal for, shall we say, uninvited guests?"

"No, not really."

Corrin waited a moment for her to continue, but it became rapidly clear that the princess was lost in her own thoughts. Deciding it would be best to give her the time she needed, Corrin instead looked out across the water, admiring the way the ripples and waves washed over each other in an endless dance upon the surface.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" the princess asked, noticing Corrin's gaze. "No matter how many waves or ripples are formed, eventually the surface calms and settles down again. It's oddly reassuring."

Nodding in silence, Corrin continued to gaze out across the water before responding. "Azura, I know I already said this back at the capital, but I-"

The prince was interrupted midsentence by Azura sighing. "Corrin, I understand that you feel bad, but now really isn't the time. We are on the cusp of a war. As much as you and I might want time to come to terms with the feelings about… about mom, we just can't afford to right now. Fate had played its cards, all we can do now is weather that storm as best we can."

"I- you're right. As usual. Thanks."

The princess smiled again, a flair of mischief sliding across her face for the smallest instant. "You know Corrin… I'm beginning to see a pattern. That time at the plaza was the second time you forced me to the ground after all. If you're not careful someone might get the wrong idea."

"Wh-what?! I- I- That was just-" A jumbled mass of words and half formed excuses flowed unbidden from the prince's mouth much to the blue haired princess's delight.

"Ha ha ha, Corrin, I'm only teasing you. I thought you might need a little pick me up after all you've been through. Though, you certainly did react a little more strongly than I thought you would. Could it be? No, of course not! I mean we are all alone around such a beautiful lake though..."

"Azura, not that I can't appreciate the teasing, and believe me I've done my share so I can tell a master when I see one, but you did have a reason for dragging me out here didn't you?"

"Oh? A little annoyed are we?"

"If we're done here I'm heading back."

"No Corrin, Wait!" Azura said, forcing herself to stop laughing. "Please, wait. There was a very good reason that I asked you to come out here. I'm sorry for teasing you."

"No, no it's I who should apologize; I guess I'm just not used to being on the other side of the teasing. In fact I should probably apologize to Flora when I get back… Anyways what is it that you wanted to tell me?"

"Oh, yes. One second please." The princess reached into a leather pouch attached to the back of her white dancer's dress. When she was finished, the princess held out her hand and revealed what she had been hiding. It was a brilliant green stone. Not quite the constant, deep, vibrant hue of an emerald, instead there were golden veins crisscrossing throughout. There was a sense of power surrounding it, as though the very air around it was electric. Yet, there was also an odd weight emitting from it as well, tendrils of power pressing upon the prince from all sides. It was paradoxical. It was beautiful.

"This is a dragon stone." Azura explained to the awed prince. "Legend says that at the beginning of time, the first dragons themselves used these stones to keep their powers from going rampant. With this, I believe you will be able to finally control your powers."

"Azura, this, this is a priceless artifact. Where did you even get this?"

The princess motioned towards the pond and Corrin began to understand. Valla. She had somehow found the ancient artifact in that hell hole. "Azura… You really shouldn't go in there alone. If they were to find you-"

"Corrin, if all you do is worry and apologize we won't get anything done."

"I'm serious here. You're not alone in this. Not anymore. Promise me that next time you'll at least ask for my help."

The princess looked taken aback before raising a hand to hide a small laugh.

"Azura! This isn't funny!"

"No it's… it's just a little odd. I've never really had anyone worry about me before. Thank you Corrin. I'll try to be more careful in the future. Oh and you're blushing again."

Corrin turned away from the princess again in an attempt to hide his tomato colored face. "Ya, ya, I'm glad you're happy. Now we were talking about the ancient magic artifact?"

"Of course," Azura responded, making a mental note about how to tease the prince as she did. "Legends say that the stones have the ability to partially bind the powers of a dragon to the point where they can be controlled."

"So they're a type of suppressant?"

"Essentially."

"Doesn't that mean I'll be inherently weaker?" Corrin said with a frown.

"At first, yes," the princess admitted. "But remember, this way you'll remain in control while you're transformed. Whatever power you'll lose because of the stone you'll more than make up for with cunning."

"Perhaps you're right," the prince admitted, still unsure.

"Also, the more experience you gain with the stone, the more power you'll be able to release. With enough training, there'll barely be any difference between you're natural ability and your constricted strength. Here, hold it for a second, you'll see."

Warily, Corrin reached out and took the verdant stone from Azura. As his fingers brushed the surface he felt a sharp, intense pain shoot through his left eye, only for it to disappear an instant later as though it had never existed. Taking it as a sign to continue, Corrin lifted the dragon stone up to eye level to get a better look. It was even more beautiful close up. The crisscrossing veins of gold seemed almost alive in the way that they moved and shimmered in the light. As it did, the prince felt a wave of cooling power flow across his being, enhancing his senses. It was only after the power had gone that Corrin realized just how distracting it had been. Like a fog lifted, the ambient traces of draconic power faded and left the world sharper and focused. Smiling at the apple sized rock, Corrin looked back to Azura.

"How does it feel?"

"Like nothing I've ever experienced."

The princess smiled. "So is it safe to assume that the stone works?"

"I'd say so, but we won't know for sure until we test it out in combat." Corrin replied. _Speaking of which, even with the stone it might be a good idea to keep my powers on standby for the time being. I'm still not sure about just what happened during my battle with Ose. It could be that the Demifiend's powers react negatively with my draconic abilities. At least that's what appears to be the case anyway. If that's true I'll need to test the stone out later in a safe place, not next to a lake with only a princess to go get help if something goes wrong._

"I agree. But you should wait until after the coming battle to test it." Azura warned, her expression dark. "More likely than not this confrontation will devolve into conflict. And when it does, we'll need your help to even the odds."

"Azura… if war does break out. What would you do if I didn't join you?"

"W-what?"

The prince sighed and turned away from the shocked expression that had taken over Azura's face. "I mean that I'm not sure I'd be able to fight against the people who raised me. Sure, I know that I'm not related to them by blood. Hell, I was even kidnapped into their family, but I still lived with them for twelve years. That time won't go away just because of some chair. Surely you must feel the same way about the Hoshidan royals."

"I… I understand. For me the only goodness I ever saw in Nohr came in the form of young boy I met as a child who took a punishment meant for me. But here in Hoshido? Though I may be seen as spy or worse, the royals have always cared for me. Even Takumi in his own special way. I love my adopted family as much as anyone possibly could. I want to keep them safe. Is that how you feel about the Nohrian royals?"

Seeing Corrin nod the princess sighed before continuing, "Then for the sake of that family I hope I'm wrong about tomorrow. Now then, we've been gone a little long don't you think? We'd better get back before we're missed."

And as the princess turned to make her way back to camp, Corrin took one final glance across the water. "I hope you're wrong as well Azura. I'd like nothing more for us all too happily live together. But for some reason, I get the feeling that will never come to pass."

Kaze returned to the campsite to find Lilith working on the site by herself. "Hello Lilith, is everything going well? Hmm? Where is Lord Corrin?"

"Oh hello Kaze, I'm fine thanks. He left a little while ago with Princess Azura. She wanted to speak in private with him."

"Really? Did she mention what she wanted to talk about?

"No, only that she wanted to talk to him in private."

The ninja ran a hand through his green hair as he contemplated the serving girl's words. "Do you know where they went?"

"No idea. They both kind of just walked off into the woods together. Why? What are you expecting to find?"

"Nothing in particular. I just wanted to make sure that they were both safe. Two royals shouldn't be out alone without any bodyguards."

Lilith nodded solemnly. "Good point. But our boss CAN turn into a dragon."

"True, but aren't you a dragon too? It didn't do us that much good during our battle with Ose."

"It's complicated," Lilith deadpanned. "By the way, what took you so long? I thought you were just looking for firewood."

"Uhh. About that." The ninja looked very uncomfortable. "For some reason a bunch of women in the camp cornered me. They kept trying to make small talk with me for some reason or another. It was maddening."

"Are you serious? You don't know why they were talking to you?"

"Not in the slightest, why?"

"Ugh. You're almost as bad as Jacob."

Realizing she wasn't about to elaborate, Kaze merely sighed and leaned against a nearby tree. The camp was all but complete and the sun had begun to set over the forest. Lilith was right, between the two of them Corrin and Azura would be fine against anything short of a demon. All that was left was to wait for the pair to get back.

"Lord Corrin, welcome back."

"Hey Kaze. What I miss?" Corrin asked with a smile as he and Azura came out of the trees and stepped into the fading twilight light. "Thanks for finishing up Lilith, everything looks great."

"Thank you milord."

"Corrin, I should return to my tent. It was nice talking to you. Please make sure to get a goodnight's sleep. We'll all need our strength for tomorrow." After bidding the prince farewell she departed.

Kaze moved to help his two compatriots as they started to make a fire for dinner. By the time they had finished the sun had finally finished sinking below the horizon, leaving only the soft glow of a thousand campfires flickering throughout the countryside.

"So, Corrin," Lilith began, "I think it's finally time to tackle that issue."

Kaze nodded his acquiescence while Corrin merely sighed. "I suppose now is as good a time as any."

"You have a plan?"

"Actually Kaze, I think I do. I think I know what I'm going to do. But before I cross that bridge, remember that you two are still free to make your own choices. You can still get out."

Lilith and Kaze's eyes met and they both knew where they stood. There wasn't even a choice as far as they were concerned. "Milord, Lilith and I are with you, no matter what choice you make."

Shaking his head and failing to hold back a smile, Corrin responded. "Well in that case come in close and listen up, we have a lot to go over and not too much time to do so. After all Azura is right, we are going to need all the rest we can get."

She threw it into the fire.

It was the only option. If anyone else had seen that letter not only would she have been executed, but her entire tribe would have been as well, including her family.

Flora watched as the yellow paper curled up as the fire devoured the evidence. Though the blue haired maid hated the heat of the flames, the relief brought on by the notes destruction gave her the strength to endure it.

Ever since Corrin had disappeared there had been a strange sense of anxiety covering the Northern Fortress as one by one all of the servants had been transferred to different locations. First the gardener, then the cook, then the steward. Jacob had left a few days earlier much to Flora's dismay. Even Felicia had struck out after hearing rumors of Corrin's survival and reappearance in Hoshido, leaving only a few days before the letter had arrived. Now as one of the few remaining staff, Flora felt a startling sense of loneliness.

Without a word, the blue haired maid pursed her lips and got out from her chair. An hour later she had finished packing her portly collection of possessions and left the Northern Fortress for what she suspected would be the last time. Making sure to close the gates behind her, the words of the note continued to burn themselves into her mind.

Dearest Flora and Felicia,

I hope that this letter finds the two of you in good health. Truly it has been an eternity since we last sat around a table and shared a meal together like we used to. It seems only yesterday that the two of you were giggling in my arms. However I did not send this letter to remember days long past. No this is of a far more urgent message.

Both of you must return to our village at once. It doesn't matter how, make any excuses that you can, just find a way to get home. We have recently received word that the Nohrian army is making its way to Hoshido. This can only mean that they intend to make war upon them.

I doubt the Hoshidians can defeat them on their own, but perhaps that doesn't matter for us. Our overlords shall be weakened regardless. We may never again have a chance like this.

Because of this, I am leading the ice tribe in a rebellion against the crown. With a bit of luck the army will be too caught up in the war to suppress us and we can regain our independence.

Now is the time for us regain our freedom, now is the time for us to avenge the humiliation of losing our sons and daughters to Nohrian servitude. So I ask you, please my daughters, please come home.

Your loving father,

Kilma

PS Burn this

* * *

 **Author's Note-**

 **Thank you very much for reading! If you have questions, critiques, or predictions, please leave a review and I'll do my best to get back to you!**

 **Otaku-Nation666- Probably a good idea, x). Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **vampireharry the 2- Thank you! I'll do my best!**

 **Kalakauai- We'll find out next time...**

 **RealmOfEmptiness- What?! No... (Maybe)**

 **Disclaimer- This is a nonprofit, fan-based work. All characters and settings belong to their respective owners.**

 **Next Time- The crossroads of fate.**


	11. Chapter 10: The Path is Yours

As the prince looked out across the torch lit field he felt a sickening sense of dread creep up his spine. Both the Nohrian and Hoshidan armies had lined up on opposing sides of the field, weapons drawn and faces hard as stone. Apprehension filled the air in the face of the impending conflict.

It was exactly the scene of the nightmare he had had all those weeks ago at the Northern Fortress.

"Corrin are you alright?"

Looking away from the scene playing out in front of him for a moment, Corrin met the concerned face of his red haired older sister. "I'm fine Hinoka. Thanks."

"Are you sure? You look a little pale. If you want to, I'm sure Ryoma wouldn't object to you staying back with Sakura and Yukimura. I acn't imagine how hard this must be for you..."

"No, I'm fine, promise. Besides, I need to do this." Corrin replied with a sad smile. Turning back to the field he continued. "So what's the plan? How long do we have to stand here until the action starts?"

"Oh thats right you weren't at the tactics meeting last night were you?"

"No, something about Takumi and Yukimura saying I was, and I quote 'A filthy Nohrian excuse of a security risk that would like nothing more than to betray our military secrets to that infernal army of sub-human maggots.' You know, I do have to give them credit for creativity when it comes to their insults. I could try for a week and not come up with anything half that entertaining."

"They said what?!" Hinoka looked as though she was about to stab something. "I can't believe that!"

"Hinoka, please try to calm down a little. I'm sure that can wait until after the impending mass murder spree."

The princess sighed. "Ya ya, I know you're right. Still, I thought that after the whole Ose thing they would have warmed up to you a little."

"Apparently they found the whole transforming dragon thing a cause for suspicion." Corrin deadpanned. "Go figure."

"Ugh. I'll talk to them about it after this is all over. I'll make SURE they get over it." Hinoka smiled. "Anyway, back to your question, we're to wait here until the Nohrians make the first move. Ryoma distributed our forces into a defensive formation designed to block Nohr's advance and stall them."

"But won't that just create a stalemate?"

"Essentially, ya."

Now that didn't make any sense. Nohr was well known to have a higher military might than Hoshido. Even though Hoshido had more troops currently fielded, Nohr was just better organized, better trained, just… better. Hell, it was the reason Mikoto had even needed to create the magic barrier to begin with. The way things stood now eventually Nohr would just send for reinforcements, ending the stalemate in a Nohrian victory.

Shaking his head, Corrin asked the obvious question. "Why? Won't that just end in a loss?"

"Normally yes," Hinoka admitted. "But Ryoma has made sure to keep an escape route open for us in case we get overwhelmed."

"That still doesn't explain why you wouldn't try to beat them before their reinforcements arrive."

"Corrin, what would happen if they were to send more troops?"

The prince thought for a second. "The order would be sent back to Nohr, which would would respond by sending more soldiers into Hoshido over the bottomless canyon, right?"

"Exactly. Now what would happen if the bridges over the canyon were to be broken after they crossed over?"

And with that one question the whole strategy made sense. Ryoma was playing the long game. If this worked out the way he planned it, a huge portion of the Nohrian army would be trapped in Hoshido. Their supply lines would be cut and they would be in completely foreign territory. Given enough time, the Hoshidan army would be able to whittle them down and eventually eliminate the enemy without too much effort. True, the Nohrian troops could rebuild the bridges across the canyon. But that would take time they didn't have. They could also try to air drop small amounts of supplies to their troops via wyvern, but in the end that wouldn't stave off a total loss for more than a few days. The high prince of Hoshido wasn't trying to win the battle, he was trying to win the war.

Corrin chuckled and shook his head as it all fell into place. "I assume you're the one leading the raid, then?"

Hinoka winked at her little brother as she turned away. "Who else?"

"Heh, heh. I guess you've got me there. Oh, before I forget," Corrin reached into his back pocket and pulled out two small candy like objects. "I picked up two pegasus treats back at the festival but after that whole mess in the square…" The white haired prince shivered in spite of himself. "Well anyway, I'm sure they'd love the treat before the battle. Could you make sure one of these gets to Sakura's retainer as well? I want to thank him for keeping my little sister safe."

"Aww, Corrin! Thank you so much!" Hinoka said smiling. "I'll make sure this gets to both of our pegasi right away!"

Corrin watched his sister walk off toward the line of pegasi that stood ready at the flank of the Hoshidan army. As she walked off he couldn't help but feel a pungent pang of sadness and regret shoot through him. Turning back towards the deadly calm of the battle field Corrin felt a sad smile crawl across his face.

"Well what do you know? Kaze was right. Damn it." Sighing, he spared a glance over to where he knew Sakura and Azura were waiting with the army officers. It was the safest place on the field.

"Hmm, by this time Lilith and Kaze should have gotten into position." Corrin sat down and rested his head on his hands. "It won't be long now. Nothing to do but wait"

A few hours passed, as Corrin waited for the inevitable. In the mean time he occupied himself by fiddling with his sword, fiddling with his dragon stone, fiddling with his cape, basically anything to keep his mind off of what was coming. He had just begun to count the leaves on a nearby tree when the moment he had been dreading finally came. Horns blew, drums beat, and the thunderous roar of thousands of footsteps crescendoed across the field. Looking up, the prince was greeted by the sight of the Nohrian vanguard pouring over the field towards the Hoshidan defenses. Ruby and Amethyst bursts of magic could be seen raining down from on high like the wrath of the gods.

War had officially begun.

Indulging in one last moment to feel sorry for himself, the white haired prince drew his golden sword and began to run down towards the battle.

 _Alright now if the dream was accurate, I should find Xander and Ryoma battling each other somewhere near the center of the conflict._ Corrin thought. Thankfully this whole affair has been fairly straightforward so far, except for some reason the sky was almost empty. Neither pegasus knight or wyvern rider was anywhere to be seen.

The battle had been going on for over half an hour with neither side being able to claim a definitive advantage over the other. The Nohrian side had been able to claim an early lead via magical bombardment from the southern flank but that was quickly negated by Takumi's archery division. After that, Nohr had seemed somewhat reluctant to unleash any more of their mages for fear of snipers. Of course it wasn't like Ryoma's forces couldn't press the advantage, as they had more than enough to deal with already.

Through all of the fighting Corrin continued to search through the murk and gloom, trying desperately to find the fight he knew was taking place at that very moment.

 _There!_

Through the smokey chaos of the battle field Corrin saw Xander and Ryoma battling. Like two titans out of a legend they clashed, bursts of dark and lightning magic streaking through the air from their swords. The surrounding soldiers had given the pair a wide berth for fear of being caught in the crossfire.

Turning on his heels Corrin sprinted towards the two princes. As he went he took the opportunity to slice through two soldiers with the Yato, inviting stunned silence from those they had been fighting. But there was no time to ponder that now, Corrin could see that the battle was reaching a fever pitch, if he waited any longer...

As he entered the ring, Xander saw him. In less than an instant the ice-cold focus of battle that adorned his face morphed into a look of shock which in turn morphed into relief followed by joy. "Corrin!"

Ryoma stopped mid sword swing. "Corrin?! What are you-"

The high prince was cut off as Corrin pushed himself in between the two men. Swinging the Yato in a wide arcing motion, Xander and Ryoma were forced to jump out of the way or risk being disemboweled.

For a moment a look of hurt and confusion passed over Xander's face. "Corrin? What was that? Are you alright? They haven't harmed you have they?"

"Xander, I'm fine. But what are you even doing here? Why are you invading Hoshido?"

"Father said it was finally time to free our people from the threat of Hoshido forever, to finally show our strength and bring the world into a new age!" Xander's face turned solemen for a moment, and for a second, Corrin could see the telltale remnants of weeks of worry. "He also said that there had been sightings of you in the Hoshidan capital. We were worried we'd lost you... Camilla and Elise have been near implacable." The prince shook his head, as his smile returned. "But that doesn't matter, not now, not anymore. Join us and we can conquer Hoshido here and now!"

"Xander…"

"We can end this war before it's begun! Now come back to me!"

"Corrin!" Ryoma yelled. "Don't listen to him! This man is a Nohrian prince!"

"Ryoma…"

"Corrin, if we end this now we can minimize the amount of blood spilt." Xander held out a hand, desperation clear in his eyes. "Please Corrin, I'm begging you, come home. Come back to your family."

"How dare you!" Ryoma thundered. "You dare call yourselves his family? You're his _kidnappers_. Nothing more! Never anything more!" Ryoma held out a hand to Corrin, "All those years you stole from him, locked him away in a tower when he should have been with us! With his true family! Corrin, please come over here. together we can turn the tide of this battle!"

"No Corrin, we have loved you and raised you since you were a child. Come home, little prince. We can live as a family once more."

"Don't be fooled by his words, Corrin. Come home to Hoshido!"

"No Corrin, Nohr is your home!"

"My home… My family." Corrin had a far off, forlorn look in his eyes as he spoke. He known this was coming and yet he hoped that just maybe there would be a way to stop it, to change his fate. "Please both of you, this isn't the only answer! It doesn't have to be this way!"

"Corrin…" Ryoma shook his head. "Listen, you know that-"

"NO you listen! Nohr isn't the only enemy that exists. You have to trust me on this!" Corrin shouted desperately. _How do I get through to them?_ _I need to somehow make them understand about Valla._ _At the very least make them realize that there is more going on here then they know._ "Just, please. Please listen to me. I'm begging you. If either of you ever truly loved me, you'll do this for me."

"Corrin," Xander began, "I'm sorry, but its too late for that now… My men have already died. If I were to back down now, it would be as if I spit on their graves." Xander's face hardened. "And besides, I have my orders. I will not falter. Corrin... Please, just come back to us."

"For once I agree with the scum, the time for talking has ended." Ryoma growled before reaching out to his younger brother. "Now quickly, come back to me Corrin. Let us drive these invaders from our land!"

 _So this is how it is. I guess a part of me always knew it._ Corrin thought with a sense of overwhelming sadness. At this point there was no other way out. The two princes would not back down. Nothing Corrin could say or do do would stop that. _So what can I do? Is there another way out?_

For the smallest moment Corrin considered refusing to choose a side, instead running away beyond the reach of this war. Maybe he could live in a cottage in the forests of Hoshido. Or maybe he could strike out on his own trying to unravel the secrets behind Valla and Ose. Given a little luck maybe someday he'd even manage it.

 _But no. I can't. Some part of me would always resent myself for this moment. I- I will make my choice. Right here. Right now._

 _Nohr…_

 _Hoshido…_

 _My true family…_

Corrin turned towards the blonde haired prince of Nohr and smiled sadly. Then he turned back to Ryoma and raised his sword.

"Ryoma, withdraw your troops."

"Corrin, what are you saying?" Ryoma's voice cracked. It sounded as if he had been drained of all hope. As if he were a husk of his former self.

"I won't fight for Hoshido. I'm- I'm returning to Nohr. I'm going home." Corrin looked away, unable to meet his older brother's gaze. "I'm not coming back with you. Not now, not ever."

"You can't mean that. You can't!"

"Ryoma, I'm sorry. But it's the truth."

"But, but- why?"

"You did the right thing Corrin." Xander said with pride. "I can't tell you how much it means to me that you came back. I know father will feel the same way once we return to castle Krakenburg."

"Ryoma, I can't tell you how sorry I am." Corrin began. "But it isn't so simple. Yes I have all of my memories from before. But that doesn't mean I lost all the ones I made while I was in Nohr! I can't betray the people who raised me. I won't leave them."

Ryoma's sword began to shake. "But you were there, weren't you? You saw what they did to our father, to our mother!" The samurai rushed Corrin, his sword a wild arc of lightning and wrath. Corrin barely had enough time to dodge the first strike and move his sword into a clumsy attempt to parry the second. Thankfully, whatever the Yato was made out of didn't seem to conduct the electricity of Ryoma's sword. "The demon they summoned! How can you possibly forgive that?!"

Corrin's eyes narrowed as he struggled to keep the samurai at bay. "You're making a lot of assumptions, brother." Corrin could hear the telltale rumble of Xander's blade, Siegfried, charging a blast of dark energy. With all his strength, Corrin pushed against Ryoma's iron-like strength. The samurai barely gave an inch, but it was enough. In an instant Corrin used the slight opening to throw himself to the side as Xander unleashed his power. But Ryoma merely changed his stance, adopting a defensive posture and deflected the blast off of his blade. Taking advantage of the slight lull in the fighting, Corrin continued. "I don't recall saying I ever forgave the heartless murder of my mother. Nor do I recall any proof linking Ose to Nohr."

Lightning began to crackle on the edge of Ryoma's blade. "No, no, no, you don't have the right to call me brother any longer. If that's the choice you make, if you choose Nohr over your own flesh and blood… Well there's nothing left for us to say."

"I'm sorry to hear you say that." Corrin replied, his voice purged of all emotion.

"You think you can beat me, traitor? I know your abilities are still recovering from our fight with Ose. I will drag you back to Hoshido and beat some sense into you if that's what it takes."

"You will not touch him." Xander voice rang out.

"Xander, please." Corrin held up a hand. "True. You aren't wrong about that, my powers are completely and totally depleted for the time being." The white haired prince admitted. Then a smile spread across his face. It was a cold, dead smile. There was no humor or warmth in that smile, it was the look a predator gave its prey right before the kill. "However, you don't honestly believe I came onto this gods forsaken battlefield before making my decision, do you? Hell, I killed a few of your soldiers on my way here." Corrin could see Ryoma go stiff with fear as he realized where the conversation was headed. Corrin's smile widened. "So tell me, Brother, do you really think I was stupid enough to come out here without a plan?"

"What have you done?" Ryoma asked, his voice low. "What. Have. You. DONE?!"

"Absolutely nothing. Though… now that I think about it," Corrin raised a finger to his lips in mock contemplation. "I haven't seen Lilith or Kaze in FOREVER. I hope they're okay. Be a real shame if they got into trouble…"

"You…"

Corrin let the false smile slip off of his face. Though he had hated to do it, the plan they had made necessitated it unfortunately. The angrier the samurai was, the less likely he would be to catch on too soon. It tore Corrin apart, but at this point there truly was no turning back.

Adopting an offensive posture and taking his place at Xander's side, Corrin was ready to compliment the paladin's efforts. "But enough of that. Let's finish this. Here and now."

* * *

"So you're sure?"

Corrin nodded. "I can't turn my back on my Nohrian siblings. I won't."

Kaze sighed. "Can't say I'm surprised. So what do we do now?"

"I could just open a portal to the Nohrian encampment." Lilith offered. "If this is what you want, then we ought get out of here as soon as possible."

"Not a bad idea." Kaze agreed. "If Nohr is your choice then sooner we're out of here the better."

Corrin shook his head. "No we can't. If we do that then the Hoshidans will be annihilated down to the last man."

Lilith cocked her head to the side, sympathy lacing her face. "Milord… I understand you don't want to hurt you siblings but if we try to help both sides it'll just end with us being rejected by everyone."

"Lilith is right." Kaze affirmed. "You've made your choice. If we can end this war here and now then we owe it to the civilians who would be hurt in the long run to do just that."

Corrin shook his head sadly. "Normally you'd both be right. However, you're forgetting that this isn't a normal war." The prince sighed. "Ose made sure of that."

"Ose attacked the Hoshidan capitol with the express purpose of killing the Hoshidan ruler. But why?" The prince rested his head on his hands as he frowned. "If you ask me I don't think the assassination was the point. I mean, that seems a little bit low-key for a demon. No, I think the entire purpose of the attack was to destroy the barrier protecting Hoshido. Killing my mother was simply a means to that end." Any argument his two retainers had was cut off as Corrin continued. "I also think it's fairly safe to assume that the Nohrian army being at the border just when the shield failed isn't a coincidence. They somehow knew the barrier was going to break."

Kaze thought about the prince's words for a moment. "So what are you saying, that Nohr has an alliance with Ose?"

Corrin shook his head. "Maybe, but I doubt it. If Nohr had an alliance like that, why only use it now? No, this seems like a test run of sorts."

"So an individual or a small organization then."

Corrin nodded. "That would make the most sense. The king wouldn't be this subtle. Why would he need to be? But a smaller organization? They would have to be careful not to let the king think they were a threat to the crown, and considering how powerful Ose was… Ya this attack seems more like a tryout session for the king's favor."

"Do you have any idea who it could be?" Lilith asked. "I mean, I'm sure you know who I'd guess..."

Corrin groaned. "Yep, Iago is definitely suspect number one. But even if he is the one behind it, there's not much we can do about it at the moment, especially if he has the king's favor."

"Then what ARE we going to do?" Kaze interjected. "If we can't do anything about it, why are we going back to Nohr? There no reason to do so, I mean, your familial ties notwithstanding."

Corrin smiled slyly at the ninja. "Ye of little faith, Kaze! Just because we can't attack Iago directly doesn't mean we're out of luck. Think about it. Summoning a demon can't be easy, otherwise he would have conquered the entire world already."

"Hmm, so you're saying he has a support network?"

"Bingo." Corrin closed his eyes and leaned back to rest against a nearby tree. "That's where we strike. If we can dismantle that from the inside, we can stop more demons from being summoned while humiliating Iago at the same time. And once he loses favor with the king… well I doubt he'll live to regret that." Corrin smiled again in spite of himself. "Not to mention that I'm positive that given enough time I can bring my siblings around. I know that they don't want this war any more than we do. And I'm sure they would be horrified to know they were working with actual demons."

Lilith nodded in agreement. "So we know what we our plan is once we're back in Nohr. But how are we going to get there? If you want to end things peacefully later on, the battle tomorrow can't have too many casualties."

"Right. Too many casualties and there will be even more hatred between the two sides than there is now. To that end, we have two objectives." Corrin held up a finger. "One, force the Hoshidans to retreat before they suffer critical losses-"

"You're sure that the Nohrians will win?" Kaze interrupted.

"Unfortunately yes." Corrin responded sadly. "Garon wouldn't have sent this many soldiers if he intended to give the Hoshidans a chance. Also, the honor guard is still recovering from our battle with Ose. Trust me, on an open field there is really only one way this fight ends. But back to that in a moment." Corrin held up a second finger. "Objective two, force a Nohrian retreat in such a way that we can't be blamed for it. Preferably without humiliating my siblings either."

Corrin waited a moment for that to sink in. Kaze and Lilith looked at each other before turning back to Corrin. Neither of them said as much as a word.

"What?!"

"Lilith?"

"Yes Kaze?"

"I believe our lord's head is addled."

"I must concur. Perhaps we should bring him to the medical tent?"

"Okay, I think I've just about had it with the sass. Can we please get back to business?"

"Sorry milord, it's just-"

"Impossible." Kaze finished. The ninja crossed his arms in exasperation. "Sabotaging Hoshido? Relatively simple. But framing them for a Nohrian retreat? That's pushing it."

"Oh come on! We beat a demon for crying out loud, compared to that this is child's play." Corrin rose to his feet and began to pace around the group's small campfire. "Now Lilith, you made sure to soundproof our campsite right?"

"Yes milord. I set up an astral ward around the immediate area. We can talk with impunity."

"Perfect. Probably should have asked that earlier on, but whatever. Now before you two boo me off the stage, please give me the benefit of the doubt and hear me out." Pausing to hear any objections but finding none, Corrin continued. "So, as Kaze mentioned, the first objective is by far the easiest. All we have to do is cause enough damage such that continuing to fight would be suicide. Yet, as previously mentioned I'd prefer to keep the bloodshed to a minimum. So this is what we're going to do…"

* * *

Kaze crept around the side of the carriage. His eyes darted from side to side as he moved, careful to make sure no one caught wind of his presence. He was a shadow, barely discernable from his surrounding.

He paused as a squad of Hoshidan soldiers ran toward the front lines. From the sound of their yelling things were going about as Corrin had expected. When he was sure that they were well and truly gone, the green haired ninja darted towards his target.

It was an armored carriage, similar to the one that he had ridden in on the way here, except much larger and with reinforced armored plates on the sides and roof. There were two guards stationed at the only entrance inside, each armed with an iron naginata. For a moment Kaze wondered if it would come to blows before he noticed that there was a small window behind the driver's seat of the carriage.

 _That's right, these carriages aren't military made. They're converted merchant carriages._ Kazed thought. _Hmm, we got lucky._

Scampering up a nearby tree the ninja slowly crawled across a tree branch until he was over the objective. Dropping down onto the guarded carriage, the ninja crawled through the open window and slipped inside.

Once inside, he found himself surrounded by the shadowy inactive forms of Hoshidan puppets. Perfect.

* * *

"So this is what we're going to do: The Hoshidan military is well known for using enchanted puppets as auxiliary troops . Normally they're used as either cover for a retreat or as the vanguard of an ambush." Corrin lectured. "Now what we're going to do is set them on a rampage. If we do it right, by the time the Hoshidan command realizes what's happening most of their supplies will be destroyed and their flank cut to pieces. BUT if we disable their weapons before hand their shouldn't be much, if any loss of life."

"Hmm, that could actually work. I was given preliminary training with puppets by my brother. It shouldn't be too hard to activate them with such a simple objective."

Corrin smiled. "I'd hoped as much. Perfect."

"But won't there be safety measures to prevent that type of thing from happening?" Lilith asked.

Kaze shook his head. "None that I can't disable."

* * *

After Kaze had finished making the necessary adjustments he quickly left the way he'd came. He'd just finished climbing down the tree he'd used to get on the carriage when he came face to face with what might have been the worst possible encounter of his life. His older twin. "Saizo… I didn't expect to find you here."

Saizo's eyes narrowed as he drew two throwing stars. "Kaze. When I was told that someone had broken the protective wards around the puppet carriage I'd thought the Nohrians had managed to infiltrate our camp. I wasn't expecting to find you here. So I assume you're here on Corrin's orders?"

"..."

"You- you-" Kaze watched as spasms of rage ran through his brother's body. "Was being brought back by a Nohrian prince not enough of a humiliation for you? Instead you'd rather go full traitor?! Why?!"

"I choose to put my faith in Corrin." Kaze said simply, barely able to keep eye contact with his brother. "I'm sorry."

"That's all?!" Saizo had a demented look in his eyes at this point. Kaze could see he was about to crack. "I told our mother that you could be redeemed; that you would be able to restore your honor. It would have taken a long time, true, but I know you could do it! Instead you… you… You SPIT on your heritage!"

"Saizo, I-" Kaze was cut off by twin throwing stars spinning through the air towards his head. He was barely able to raise his knife in time to deflect them. Knowing that his brother would rush him immediately afterwards, Kaze flipped backwards landing on top of the carriage, throwing two smoke bombs at the ground as he did so.

"YOU THINK THAT WILL SAVE YOU?" Saizo's form burst out of the smoke and landed on top of the puppet carriage in opposition to Kaze. Without waiting for a reply the ninja hurtled towards his brother two more throwing stars already in hand.

Grimacing, Kaze had no choice but to retaliate.

* * *

Lilith double checked for the third time that no one had followed her. Satisfied that she was safe, the stable girl pulled out the three, small, blue bottles she had smuggled out of the Hoshidan capital late last night.

* * *

"Alright, your plan for forcing the Hoshidans to retreat seems like it could work," Lilith began slowly, "but what about the second objective? How are we going to pull that off?"

"Why thank you for asking my dear Lilith." Corrin smiled and for all purposes looked like a showman at a carnival. "Now first things first. Lilith, in order for this plan to work, you'll need to teleport both Kaze and yourself back to the Hoshidan capital to gather materials. Can you do that for me?"

Lilith nodded solemnly. "I can, but you should know that teleporting over such a large distance is going to be pretty draining. I won't be able to use that power again for at least a few months."

For the first time since they had begun, Corrin looked uncertain. "Lilith, if I'm pushing you too hard, you have to tell me. I don't want you to get hurt because of my decisions."

"No, no it's fine! Really! It's just… these last couple weeks I've used my powers more often than I ever have before. And after the battle with Ose… well I figure I've only got enough left to get this job done."

"But what about self-defense?! Gods Lilith, I can't have you entering a battle field without any means of defending yourself!"

"Those blasts don't need much energy, I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"I promise, milord."

Corrin's shoulders slumped in relief. "Alright, thank goodness. Well in that case I only have a few more question.s Kaze, I take it that the Hoshidan castle is equipped for interrogation right?"

"Yes, milord. But why? What good will that do us?"

"All in good time. Now in Nohr there is a practice of sometimes employing truth serums and the like to help elicit confessions from captives. Terrible and inhumane? Undoubtedly. Effective? Unfortunately so. Does Hoshido have a similar practice?"

"I'm ashamed to say that we do."

"And do they have anything that will strip a man of his inhibitions? The stronger the better."

Kaze gave his lord a perturbed glance. "Umm yes? Why?"

"Do you know where they keep it?"

"Of course but-"

"Excellent! Now if I understand correctly Hoshido has an extensive breeding program when it comes to pegasi. If that's the case they must have a stock of pegasus sex hormone to help them-"

"WHAT?!"

Corrin stopped and turned to his jaw dropped stable girl. "Uhh, yes Lilith, what seems to be the problem?"

"What do you mean whats the problem?! What are we even going to do? All you've talked about so far is getting drugs and pegasus sex hormone!" Lilith let out an exasperated sigh and looked to Kaze for support before turning back to Corrin. "I'm sorry milord, but I just can't see it."

Corrin put a hand on her shoulder and smiled. "I know it sounds weird but don't worry. It may be a bit of a gamble, but if it fails, we'll be in no worse a position than before."

Corrin walked over to where had first been seated and crouched down, using a stick to draw in the dirt. "So where was… OH that's right! Pegasus sex hormone!"

* * *

Lilith took the three bottles of pegasus hormones and started tying them to the boulders currently sitting in the catapults. When she was sure that they were fastened securely she pushed against the sides of the weapon until it was at the angle that Corrin had given her. There wouldn't be any second tries if she messed this up.

After double checking the trajectory, she held out a hand towards the firing mechanism and let out an azure blast of astral energy. As the burst of power cascaded into the machine, the boulders flew high into the sky. Lilith took a moment to indulge herself by watching the projectile streaking across the sky. In a certain way it was beautiful, almost like the streaking rays of light that adorned the space between dimensions. That made it almost comforting.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

Lilith nearly jumped out of her skin as she turned on her heels at the source of the voice. Standing behind her, leaning against a nearby tree was none other than the princess Azura. She was watching the projectile much as she had been, though she gave the distinct impression that not only had she been watching for a great period of time, but that she had also grown board of what she saw.

"I assume that this was on Corrin's orders, no?"

W-what?! How did you know I was here?" Lilith raised her hand at the princess, power bristling as she did. "And what do you want? Why haven't you called the guards yet?"

"Lilith, at this point the guards are going to come whether I call them or not." Azura replied with an eye roll. "In regards to your other question, I must say I'm a little disappointed. You do know who my mother is, correct? Did you think you could teleport back to Hoshido without my knowledge?"

The stable girl just glared at the princess. She wasn't wrong, Lilith did know about Azura's parentage, and just what that entailed. She should have remembered that. "So you knew that Kaze and I went to Hoshido last night. What of it?"

"I was curious what Corrin's plan was. I was even more curious when I saw what you brought back." Azura raised an eyebrow. "Really? Three bottles of pegasus sex hormone, a high powered drug, and the antidote to said drug. You also made it a point to grab some rope. Just what exactly is he trying to do? This isn't some weird-"

"Why didn't you call the guards if you knew we were planning something?" Lilith interrupted, desperate to stop the princess from finishing that thought. "Even if you didn't have any proof, both Yukimura and Takumi would jump at a chance to tie us up."

Azura shrugged. "Who knows? I guess it because I was curious about what Corrin wanted to do. I also hoped that he was secretly trying to help Hoshido. Though, from your reaction, I'll guess that's not the case." The princess began to walk back towards the Hoshidan command tent. " Please give Corrin my best. I'd leave now if I were you. The guards will be here any second. I also heard a commotion over by the puppet carriage. If I had to guess, Kaze could use your help."

Lilith would have said something else, but from the sound of armored footsteps getting louder by the second, the princess was right. Not bothering to turn back, Lilith made a break for the puppet carriage.

* * *

Corrin barely had enough time to dodge the blast of lightning. Rolling off to the side, Corrin swept the Yato up at Ryoma, aiming to clip his older brother's tendons. However, the samurai was too quick and parried the strike.

He hadn't intedned to actually attempt to force Ryoma to surrender. But as the battle had progressed Corrin had quickly realized that holding back against his older brother would be a very, very poor life decision on his part. Worse still, Xander, being atop a horse, was limited in what he could accomplish due to Corrin's intervention. What had seemed like an attempt to help the Nohrian high prince had rapidly turned into a hindrance for them both.

Taking advantage of the moment, Ryoma kicked Corrin in the face before shifting back into a defensive posture so that he could block the dark energy Xander had unleashed.

"Ugh, oww." Corrin mumbled as he took a second for his head to stop spinning.

"Corrin are you alright?"

"I-I'm fine Xander, thanks." _I knew Ryoma was strong but what the hell! This is ridiculous!_ Corrin reached into his pocket and felt the smooth shape of the dragonstone. Even from that brief touch a soothing sense of calm spread through his body. _I may not have enough strength to channel any of the Demifiend's powers but maybe the dragonstone… I mean I haven't had a chance to test it yet, but all things considered there truly is no time like the-_

Corrin's thoughts were cut off by a hundred screeches crescendoing down from on high. Looking up the prince felt a pang of relief as he saw that the Hoshidan pegasus troops had finally returned from the bottomless canyon with multiple squads of wyvern riders hot on their trail. The Nohrian reinforcements were lead by a familiar purple haired princess. _And it looks like Leo had Camilla hang back to defend the bridges. Bravo little brother, bravo._

Relief turned to jubilation as Corrin saw all but two of the pegasi turn toward the Nohrian encampment and engage in power dive, streaking down like a hundred shooting stars from the heavens. The battle field seemed to freeze all at once, soldiers on both sides staring up in abject horror as over a hundred knights crashed into the Nohrian camp. There was a terrible screeching sound as the protective wards defending the carriages gave in to the shear weight and force of the Hoshidan cavalry. Corrin didn't need to check personally to know that most if not all of the soldiers involved had perished.

* * *

"Alright, so we have all the materials?"

"Yes, milord." Lilith nodded with a smile. The trip had been exhausting for the stable girl, but nonetheless successful. Between the two of them, they had managed to steal the drug, its antidote, and the pegasus hormone.

"Perfect. And Kaze, you're sure this is the strong version of the drug?"

The ninja nodded. "I made sure to grab the undiluted bottles."

"Excellent. Now to business." Corrin grabbed the bottles holding the drug and held them out towards Kaze. "I need you to spike the pegasus feeding troughs before tomorrow morning. Understood?"

"Yes milord. But, I have to ask, why?"

Corrin smiled. "Because we're going to frame the loss of Nohr's supplies on the Hoshidan pegasus knights." Corrin gestured down at the crudely drawn figures he made earlier. "As I showed you guys before, due to my training with my _darling_ little brother I know that the Nohrian supplies will be kept here." Corrin pointed down at a spot marked with an X. "Now, there are a number of magical wards in place to protect them from stray projectiles, but their main defense is the secrecy of their placement."

"But how can you be sure that's where they'll be?" Lilith asked, confused. "Prince Leo might put them there, but another tactician could easily place them somewhere else."

"Leo is the best strategist Nohr has, my father would be an idiot not to send him on this mission. And though my father is many things, he is not an idiot. No, if I had to guess, this attack is led by Leo and Xander."

"Be that as it may," Kaze piped in. "How do you know that he didn't change the placement? They probably received reports that you've been seen around the Hoshidan royals. What if they think you've gone traitor?"

"Leo may pretend otherwise, but he loves our family. I doubt he'd believe me capable of betraying them. But you have a point, he could have changed the layout. As I mentioned earlier, there is a very good chance this plan won't work. There's just too much left to chance. For example the drug we have is meant to work on _humans_. Last I checked there were a few slight anatomical differences between humans and pegasi,. But, this is the best I've got." Corrin looked down at the crudely drawn map once more. "Now, as I was saying, the wards can take some damage, but not say, a hundred or so drugged pegasi flying down at it full speed."

"You've got be kidding me." Lilith said, awestruck. "Then the drugs and the hormones were to-"

"Make sure they disobey their riders and fly headfirst into the caravans. To the Nohrians it will look like the Hoshidans got desperate and made one last ditch effort to buy time for a retreat. The Hoshidans will probably suspect what we did, but they won't say anything for fear of Nohr attempting to repeat the tactic later in the war." Corrin's confidence faltered for a second and a look of shame crawled across his face. "Most of the pegasus riders will be killed in the nosedive. I-I know that. But if we don't do this, Xander and his army will most likely press their advantage and kill far more later on. For their sake we have to- we have to-"

Lilith laid a hand on his shoulder and Corrin realized his hands had been shaking. Smiling sadly, Corrin continued. "As I said, there's a good chance that this won't work at all. There's no telling how the pegasi will respond to the drug. But worst case scenario nothing happens and we're no worse off than we are now." Corrin looked up at the sky and groaned. "I also have no idea how we'll get all of them into position. At best, we'll probably only get a quarter of them close enough to smell the damn stuff."

"Not true. Ryoma will probably have the knights deployed to attack the bridges." Kaze stated, scratching his chin while thinking. "If we launched the hormone right when they were returning... We'd get almost a one hundred percent effectiveness."

The prince looked at Kaze, stunned. "Why on earth would Ryoma attack the bridges? Does he want the Nohrian army not to retreat?!"

Kaze shrugged. "I know your brother. He'd rather keep his enemy where he can see them than let them return home and plan something underhanded. He'll probably try to end the war with this battle."

"One, that's asinine. Nohr has more troops than it knows what to do with. Two, if you're right then I swear I'll buy you a full new set of weapons."

"I'll start window shopping." Kaze replied with a smile.

The prince rolled his eyes before continuing. "Anyway, as I was saying, any pegasus that gets a wiff of the hormone will be drawn to it at full speed. The chances of either the rider or the pegasus living is basically zilch."

Kaze considered the prince's words before asking. "But what about your sister? Lady Hinoka will be leading the pegasus knight tomorrow. Aren't you worried she'll be killed as well?"

"That's where the antidote comes in." Corrin held up the two candy-like bundles. "Tomorrow I'll give these to Hinoka under the excuse that they're treats I picked up back at the capital. I'll make sure she gives them to both her pegasus and Sakura's retainer's. Knowing her and how she treats her pegasus, I'm reasonably certain they'll get the medicine in time."

Kaze nodded. "Then I think we're all set. If you'll excuse me, milord. I have some pegasi to drug."

* * *

Corrin's eyes shot back to Ryoma, noting the devastated look on his face. The look only deepened when the sound of an explosion resonated from the Hoshidan encampment. "Well what do you know, the plan worked after all. Neat. Who would have guessed?"

"This… this isn't over!" Ryoma growled.

Xander looked up above the enemy prince's head. "I think not."

"What are you-" The samurai was cut off by a black and purple blur as Corrin's older sister surged down from the sky at top speed. Had Ryoma's reflexes not been what they were, she would have flattened him.

"Corrin are you alright? Did this man hurt you?! I swear if you so much as touched one precious little hair on his head, I'll skin you alive!"

"Camilla I'm fine thanks to you." Corrin replied, forcing a smile at is overprotective sister. Though it was fantastic to see her again, he still hadn't quite gotten used to her attitude towards killing... Turning back to Ryoma he continued. "Ryoma it's over. Surrender."

"I will bring you back, Corrin. Whether you want me to or not." Ryoma's sword stayed where it was, but his left hand climbed above his head, almost as if he was waving at something. "I will not let this scum continue to brainwash you. I promise, I will save you."

Any response Corrin might have had was cut off by Hinoka sweeping down on her steed and grabbing Ryoma's outstretched hand. Pulling him onto her pegasus, the two were soon but a speck in the distance flying back to the now retreating Hoshidan army.

As he watched them go, Corrin couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if he had sided with Hoshido. Could they have ended the war here? Would Ryoma's plan have worked? Probably not. As Corrin had told Kaze the night before, Nohr just had too large an army to beat in a single battle.

But as soon as the thoughts had appeared they vanished, sinking back into the flowing tides of his subconscious. He could have dwelt on them if he'd wanted, but that would have only end in heart ache. Instead he turned towards the outstretched arms of his older brother and sister. Smiling despite the circumstances of their reunion, Corrin walked forward to meet them.

* * *

Kaze barely had enough time to dodge his brother's latest strike, the kunai sticking out of the tree where he had been standing mere moments ago.

Swinging from a nearby tree branch Kaze deflected another three projectiles mid jump before throwing three throwing stars with dulled edges. Not bothering to see if they hit their target, Kaze pushed off of the closest tree as he ran among the branches. Dropping a bomb as he ran, he kept running as the trees behind him burst into flame.

Taking a moment to catch his breath Kaze looked around at the devastation playing out all around him. Corrin's plan had worked perfectly. The ground was flooded with the miniscule forms of a hundred rampaging puppets. From what he could tell, the Hoshidans were now in full retreat.

"TRAITOR!"

"Damn." Kaze swore as his brother came at him once more. But this time he didn't get a chance to attack. As Saizo was making the last jump through the flames to the tree where Kaze stood a burst of blue energy sniped the ninja out of the air.

Looking down at the ground, Kaze was surprised to find Lilith standing next to a heap of destroyed puppets. "Kaze! We've got to go, Corrin will be waiting for us on the Nohrian side of the field."

"I can't just leave Saizo! The puppets will kill him!"

Lilith nodded and pulled out a rope she had grabbed back when they were at the capitol. "Fine, tie him up in one of the trees so the puppets can't get him. But make it quick! The Hoshidans are running and I'm pretty sure the Nohrian supply carts just got annihilated by a hundred drug crazed pegasi."

"Understood." Kaze and Lilith quickly fastened Saizo into one of the trees, taking care to tie him in such a way that it would be easy for him to untie himself upon waking. "That should be fine. Thank you for your help. Alright, Lilith are you ready?"

"Yes, Kaze."

"Then let's go."

* * *

Corrin stood at the edge of the battlefield, clearly distressed. _They should have gotten back by now. Where are they?_

"Worrying about Lilith and Kaze?" a familiar voice asked.

Surprised, Corrin turned to find the familiar form of a Hoshidan princess with long blue hair cascading down her back. Leaning against a nearby tree, Azura wore a sad smile upon her face. "They should be here soon. They managed to escape the Hoshidan camp in the confusion, so I suspect they just got caught up crossing the battlefield."

"Azura…" Corrin began, not quite sure what to say. Thank you. That- that really does take a load off my mind. But what are you doing here?! If Xander or the others see you you'll be taken back to Nohr!"

"I wanted to talk to you one last time." Azura stated matter of factly. "You weren't going to just leave without saying good bye, were you?"

That was exactly what he had intended on doing. In all honesty, Corrin had fully expected future Hoshidan pleasantries to be in the form of assassination attempts.

His silence must have given him away, as Azura ended up sighing before Corrin could think of a response. "Remember what I said the other day. 'If all you do is worry and apologize you won't get anything done.' You made the choice you thought was right. I won't hold that against you." Azura smiled at the prince, her golden eyes warm. "So please, no matter what happens in the days to come, remember that I don't hate you. I'll never hate you."

"But how could you not?" Corrin whispered, his voice as quiet as a spider's step. "What I did today… I tore your family apart. Because of my actions you have to live with the threat of invasion hanging over your head. So why? Why do you still care, even after all that I've done?"

Azura turned away from the prince and began walking back into the woods. When only the faintest outline of the princess was visible she turned back again. "Because I know that you didn't really want to. And because I know that nothing I say now could possibly equal the guilt and anguish you already feel."

"And if you're wrong about that? What if I don't care that I've betrayed everyone?"

"I doubt it. I'm a pretty good judge of character."

"I bet you are..."

"Poking fun are we?"

I would _never._ "

Smiling, Corrin looked away from the woman and back across the battlefield, taking in the dismal scene for what must have been the fiftieth time. "I don't suppose you'd come back to Nohr with me if I asked, would you? I'm certain my siblings would welcome you back with open arms. It wouldn't be like it was before. That kind of backstabbing and treachery ended when I was young. I'm sure you'd be happy."

"No. The same bonds that tie you to Nohr, bind me to Hoshido. I won't, can't leave them behind. As Nohr is your family, Hoshido is mine. I'm sorry."

"I suppose I already knew that, but there was no harm in asking. I'm sorry too."The prince continued to survey the battle field as he spoke, keeping his voice to whisper so as not be overheard. "You know, you were one of the first friends I've ever made. I didn't get much of chance when I was in the Northern Fortress. Only the servants I had there."

The sun had begun to set over the plain. Tattered remnants of banners waved in the small zephyrs crawling across it. "If I find out anything new about Ose or about… you know, I'll find someway to tell you. I promise."

"Thank you Corrin. If you do, I'll make sure the information gets into the right hands. Now if you'll excuse me, I must be getting back before Sakura starts to miss me."

"Goodbye Azura, I'm glad to have met you. I hope the next time we meet, it is in a world finally at peace."

"I hold the same hope deep in heart. Good bye Corrin. I know we'll meet again someday." There was scuttle of branches and the prince knew that his friend was gone.

Corrin continued to gaze out across the battlefield. It felt familiar, like the fading memory of a dream upon waking. On the horizon he could finally make out the telltale shadows of his ninja and stable girl finally returning.

As he watched the figures get closer and closer he wondered if he should say a prayer for Azura and his Hoshidan relatives. If he could solve the mysteries surrounding Valla and the demons before the war escalated, perhaps he could find the happy ending he and Kaze had spoken of before. Maybe a little divine help would be just what he needed.

But in the end, the prince chose to remain silent. Partly because he had never really felt comfortable inside a church and partly because he knew in his heart that that hope was already dead.

* * *

 **Author's Note-**

 **Thank you very much for reading! If you have questions, critiques, or predictions, please leave a review and I'll do my best to get back to you!**

 **Otaku-Nation666- Did you guess right?**

 **vampireharry the 2- Thank you again! I hope you enjoyed!**

 **RealmOfEmptiness- Sorry for the lack of demons but I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Disclaimer- This is a nonprofit, fan-based work. All characters and settings belong to their respective owners.**

 **Next Time- Home again.**


	12. Chapter 11: Embrace the Dark

_Ugh what I wouldn't give for a bed._

Corrin rolled over, trying in vain to find a more comfortable position on the group. As he turned, he noticed a familiar black and gold boot about a meter away from his head. Groaning internally, the former prince slowly looked up to see precisely what he had been hoping not to see.

"Camilla."

The princess squealed. "OH is my adorable baby brother finally awake? How are you feeling sweetie? You didn't get hurt in yesterday's battle did you?"

Corrin facepalmed. As much as he loved his older sister, and he really did, he had not missed the baggage that came with her. "Camilla, you know that I'm fine. Xander told you himself that I was fine… Heck, you were there in the battle!"

"I know, but I just wanted to make sure. After all, you didn't tell me you brought that ' _ninja_ ' back home with you."

"Oh no, please tell me you didn't do anything to him."

"Never! Well nothing permanent."

"Damn it Camilla!"

Oh he's fine." Camila pouted. "He just wanted to stop me from keeping you safe."

"You mean he wanted to stop you from watching me sleep…"

Camilla waved the comment away. "How am I supposed to trust him? Last time I saw him he was trying to kill you."

"You- admittedly have a point. But still, if I say he's okay that means he's okay!"

"Oh darling, you know I love you, but you've been in enemy territory for weeks now. How am I supposed to know if you're not a little confused?"

"UHG! Camila where is my ninja?!"

"Hmph, fine! He's outside. Selena and Beruka are keeping an eye on him."

"Oh for the love of-" Corrin got up and fastened the Yato to his belt before sweeping his cape around his shoulders.

"Well it looks like I can't stop you." Camila sighed and threw her hands up in exasperation. "As headstrong as ever I see. Well at least you didn't change. Anyway I'll meet you later. Remember you promised to ride with Xander and me on the way back to Windmire."

"Ya, ya. I know. See you then!" Corrin shouted back as he exited the tent.

As the tent flap fell back into place behind him, Corrin was greeted by the sight of Kaze tied up. One woman with crimson pigtails was standing off to the side talking to Lilith while another with pale green hair was holding an ax to Kaze's throat.

Groaning out loud this time, Corrin walked over to Lilith and the red haired woman. "Lilith, what happened?"

"Lady Camilla, milord."

"What does is _look_ like happened?" Selena added.

Corrin rolled his eyes before glancing at the red haired woman. She looked to be approximately his sister's age and wore a traditional mercenary's garb. At her side was a strange barbarian-looking sword that Corrin couldn't quite identify. "I'm sorry. Selena was it?"

"Gawds don't pretend you don't know me. I've been working for your sister for the last three years."

"Whatever. Why does your friend have an ax at my servant's throat?"

"He tried to stop Lady Camila," she said like that explained it. "Aren't there princesses where he comes from? This isn't exactly weird."

"Maybe, but watching me sleep and restraining my bodyguard definitely are. Speaking of which, not that I'm complaining, but why is Lilith exempt?"

Lilith crossed her arms. "I knew better than to get in your sister's way, milord."

"Ahh. That makes sense." Corrin walked over to Beruka and made an attempt to free Kaze. His efforts were in vain.

"Umm, Selena a little help here?"

"UGH. Fine. Hey Beruka, the fact he's out here means Lady Camila's done..."

The assassin looked at her partner, her expression remaining cold and removed. "Really?"

"Ya really. Now come on, I'm sure Lady Camilla has something she needs us to do."

"Understood." Beruka finally lowered the ax and the two retainers walked away. "Oh, Laslow wants to schedule a retainer beach trip. Want me to _refuse?_ "

"Gawds yes. Just don't break any bones. Well, maybe one or two."

Corrin and Lilith spent the next few minutes untying Kaze. When the two were finally finished the sun had risen quite a bit.

"This has been one hell of a morning," Corrin vented. "Kaze, are you all right?"

"Just a little shaken up milord. You neglected to tell me your sister is insane."

"Just the older one. Though the smaller one is twelve so… not much of a difference."

"Anything else I should know?"

"The high prince has a womanizer and an actual sociopath as retainers. Give the latter a WIDE berth," Lilith offered.

"Also ignore everything Leo's retainers say. And I do mean everything," Corrin added with a nod.

"Just what have I gotten myself into…"

"Lord Corrin!"

Corrin turned away from his two subordinates and toward the direction the shrill voice had come from. To his surprise he saw the telltale pink hair of his maid. "Felicia? Is that you? What are you doing here?!"

"My question exactly," Leo added, with an exasperated eye roll. "Since she's arrived she's broken three different sets of plates, crashed a carriage, and given twenty soldiers food poisoning." The prince held up his hand in surrender. "However ten minutes later she single-handedly killed four Hoshidan ninjas before the rest of our troops even spotted them… It makes absolutely no sense."

"If it talks like a Felicia, cooks like a Felicia, and kills like a Felicia, it's probably Felicia," Corrin replied with a smile. "Still, it's amazing to see you both all right. I must have given the two of you quite the scare."

"I should say so!" Felicia stammered out, her cheeks a rosy shade of pink. "The last time I saw you, you and Gunter were fighting off waves off Hoshidans! Hans said that-"

"Hans?" Corrin interrupted with a quiet voice. There was a slight quiver to it, but other than that he gave nothing away. He might have been discussing the weather. It definitely wasn't the tone of voice one would expect when discussing a man who had attempted to murder him. "Hans gave a report about my disappearance?"

"Huh? Well, yes milord. He told us that you ordered him to go report back to the king so that you wouldn't die in vain."

"He got _very_ emotional during the telling," Leo said, his expression hard. "In fact, it was _so_ emotional I'm sure it must have affected his rendition. Wouldn't you agree?"

Corrin nodded. "Well, we'll just have to set the record straight once we get back."

"Not a bad idea. Now, if you'll excuse me. Those idiot pegasus knights wiped out my entire supply column in the last battle. I have to go check with Niles to see if anything can be scavenged."

After bidding his brother farewell, the prince turned back to his servants. Felicia had moved over to Lilith and the two servants were happily holding hands. "Lilith, I'm so glad you're okay! Everyone back at the Northern Fortress was worried sick when you disappeared from the capital."

"Everyone was?" a startled Lilith asked awkwardly. Her cheeks were a shade redder than normal. "I-I'm happy to hear it. I mean I'm not happy that they were worried, I'm just- just-"

"You're happy that they cared. There's nothing wrong with that," Kaze offered. Turning back to the maid, he held out a hand. "It's good to see you again. My name is Kaze. I joined Corrin's household while in Hoshido."

Felicia's eyes went up and down the green haired, toned, figure standing in front of her. "See you again? I admit you seem a bit familiar, but I'm afraid I can't quite place it…"

Corrin chuckled. "He was one of the Hoshidans we fought in the King's throneroom."

"W-what?! W-well then." Felicia didn't seem to quite know what to do so hesitantly reached out and shook Kaze's hand, albeit clumsily. Taking a moment to regain her composure, Corrin watched her eyes widen as she seemed to remember something. "Oh milord! I almost forgot. Jacob asked me to give you this should I find you." The maid held out a letter marked with a beautiful crimson script.

Corrin tore it open and briefly scanned the contents. "So Jacob was transferred following my disappearance. Hmm… If what he wrote here is any indication, I do not envy his new employer. Heh, good to know somethings never change." The prince pocketed the note. "Once we're back in the capital we'll have to be sure to put a transfer request in immediately. I want my butler back. What about Flora and the rest of the servants back at the Northern Fortress?"

"Most of them got reassigned. When I left to come find you, there were only a few left besides my sister."

"Ouch. Guess we're going to need to put up a couple 'help wanted' fliers." Corrin smiled. "Well I'm glad you found us. Now come on everyone, it looks like we're almost ready to head out."

* * *

"Announcing the second son of the late queen of Hoshido, Corrin!"

Corrin grimaced as he walked towards the grim, ebon throne, eventually kneeling down in front of it. _Well. That's not a good sign._

The gold and black ornamentations that adorned the throne room glowed softly with the faint light of candles. Shadows danced and moved seemingly of their own accord. And sitting on high, his chief advisor at his right hand, was the man Corrin had once called father. Garon.

"Hail, Garon, King of Nohr. I have come to present myself to you."

"Have you now? And just why would an enemy prince do such a thing?"

Corrin felt his blood turn to ice and became acutely aware of the fact that his retainers had probably been forced to wait outside for a very specific reason. Of all the ways this audience could have gone, this might've been the worst. "Enemy prince, your grace?"

"What else would I call the child of an enemy ruler?" the King growled, impatience starting to creep into his voice. "Now spit it out child. Why have you come back? From what I've heard, your memories of how came to this country all those years ago have returned have they not?"

"T-they have, Your Grace."

"Then I will ask one last time. Why have you returned to the one who took you? To the one who even now wages war against your homeland?"

"I'd think it quite obvious my liege," Iago piped in. The advisor seemed to be having the time of his life. He smirked down at the prince, perverse pleasure for Corrin's suffering clearly adorned his face. "Clearly, the Hoshidans have set up this farce in an attempt to plant an assassin close to our magnanimous king!"

"You will shut your mouth, snake!" Xander shouted. "I will not have you insult my brother in my-"

"Xander, silence," Garon commanded. "Iago, please continue."

"With pleasure, my King. If anything, our dear high prince's outburst has served to only reinforce my claim! See how he rises unbidden to defend his former sibling? Our traitor has him in his pocket! Though the Hoshidans may be a backward and pathetic bunch of barbarians, even they would realize what sort of protection that would provide." Iago pointed down at the kneeling Corrin. "And so, they sent him back, murder in his eyes, ready to end our glorious bid at revenge before it has even begun. But we are not so easily fooled, oh no! My king, let us prune this traitorous tree before it has it's chance to bear fruit. Let us show Hoshido how we handle assassins!"

"My advisor makes a compelling argument, and yet still you remain silent. Has your time in Hoshido stripped you of your tongue?"

"No, Your Grace. It's just that your advisor seems to be a bit confused."

Corrin waited until the king motioned for him to continue. "Iago would appear to be under the impression that I came back to Nohr to reclaim my former position as a prince. I think that everyone in this room would agree when I say that that's impossible."

Iago scoffed. "Then why come back? Would you have us believe that you would give up your birthright for mere sentimentality?"

Corrin felt his eye twitch and something inside of him growled with hate. Doing his best to keep the impulse in check, the former-prince merely smiled. "Iago, if I wanted the opinion of a disgusting pile of filth, I would- well, now that I think about it, I guess I probably would come to you. But if you wouldn't mind? Shut up."

"You- you stuck up conniving, piece of-" Iago was interrupted as the King began to chuckle softly.

"It would seem you haven't lost your tongue after all. Now. Continue."

"Of course, Your Grace. As I was saying, I did not come back to reclaim my title of prince. As has been previously stated, I am, by birth, a prince of Hoshido. Nothing I say or do now can change that." Corrin looked up, forcing his eyes to meet those of the king's. It was a grievous breach of edicate, but at this point it wouldn't make much of a difference. "But I was raised a prince of Nohr. I grew up believing that, living that. My siblings here… I couldn't bring myself to hurt them. Even if it was what my birth-family asked of me."

"So I was right! They did ask you to betray us!"

"They asked me to help them defend themselves," Corrin spat. "But like I said, I couldn't betray Xander, Camilla or the others. Even now I can't betray you, my King. Even after- even after I saw my mother murdered in front of eyes. I still couldn't do it."

The prince turned away. He could feel the sting of tears as the memory resurfaced. But now was not the time for that. Any weakness would be fatal. "So instead I decided to do the unthinkable. I would betray my Hoshidan family. I would betray the people who had welcomed me back into their lives without a second thought."

Corrin recounted the events of the battle, taking special care to omit any and all mention of drugging the enemy pegasi. He had the oddest feeling that particular revelation might not go over well.

When he had finished the room fell into silence.

Eventually Garon broke the quiet. "So, that was your handiwork. Hmm. But that still doesn't explain why you came back."

"If your claim is true, you could have merely left the battlefield after assisting in our victory." Iago sneered. "You did not need to return to Windmire."

"I guess you have a point there." Corrin admitted. "Except that there were two things I did leave out The first is that I intend to joining the Nohrian military, as a grunt if need be."

Garon grunted before responding. "Oh really? Why?"

"I left Hoshido to keep my siblings safe. As long as this war continues they remain in danger. If I can shorten that time by joining the military, I will."

"Hmm, and the other revelation?"

Camilla and Leo gasped as Corrin rose up and stood tall. The King merely raised an eyebrow and waited for his explanation. "When I was brought into the Nohrian encampment I was informed that my disappearance was reported by Hans. Is that true?"

"It was."

Corrin nodded. "Then I demand his execution under charges of attempted murder, insubordination, and treason to the crown."

"What?!"

"Huh?!"

"I knew it."

Corrin ignored his sibling's cries of shock and instead continued to stare down the imperious man sitting atop the throne.

"My, my. I knew you'd try something ridiculous, but this?" Iago started to laugh. "This is ludicrous! To think, you'd try to pull something like this?! Why if I-"

"Silence."

Iago stopped mid-sentence, more shocked than anything else. For a moment, Corrin thought that the advisor was going to say something, but he seemed to think better of it, instead deciding to obey the king.

"Now explain yourself. If you think to levy such egregious accusations, I expect a satisfactory explanation."

"Of course your grace." Corrin recounted the story of what had transpired at the Bottomless canyon, making sure to emphasize Hans's betrayal. He also made doubly sure to say just enough to imply Lilith had saved him by pulling him up onto the bridge instead of jumping off said bridge after him. The whole Valla curse aside, he did NOT need them to start questioning Lilith. In war time that could easily spiral out of control. _Hell I can't even ensure my own safety right now. As long as he takes it at face value I should be fine."_

The king scratched his chin. "So you're saying that Lilith, a stable girl, was able to pull you, a fully grown man in armor, up onto the bridge? Am I correct in assuming that?"

 _Shit._

"And exactly what happened to Hans during this period? Do you expect me to believe he merely left you hanging onto the side of a bridge? If you're going to lie to me boy, make it better than that."

 _Double Shit! I swear the stress of these past few days is getting to me… I am better than this. Personally I blame Hoshido and their warm, comfy sleeping mats. They make sleeping on the ground COMPLETELY impossible._

Garon raised an eyebrow. "Do you have nothing to say?"

Corrin sighed and reached into his back pocket. _Plan B it is then._ Slowly, raising his hand for all to see, the prince held aloft the smooth, green dragonstone he had been keeping on his person.

For a moment, Corrin saw recognition flash through Garon's and Iago's eyes and he couldn't help but smile internally. _Oh? Do you already know what this is? Funny. Your guards didn't, so they didn't confiscate it along with my sword. Shame that._ "My King, I apologize profusely for my sin. I felt that those assembled would either not believe the truth or be terrified of it. However, if it is your will, I shall show you." Not waiting for permission, Corrin continued, "This is an object I have recently acquired, known as a dragonstone." Corrin ignored the gasp from Leo and spoke on. "If it is your will, I will show the assembled court just how I was able to both drive off Hans as well as climb back up onto the bridge."

Garon gave a barely discernible nod and Corrin, for the first time in his life, activated the stone.

It was a rush unlike anything he had ever felt. Where as before, the power had always been excruciating, this time it felt like jumping into a hot spring. The soothing warmness rolled over his body, appendages warped and grew while scales sprang forth from his skin. In a flash it was over, and yet, this time things were very much different.

Corrin was in control this time. Complete control.

Relishing in the feeling of power his new form had given him, Corrin took a moment to look around the room. The first thing that stood out, was that his siblings were jaw-dropped. In the thirty seconds since he had transformed, Xander had gone into full crown-prince mode. He had summoned medics, guards, and a new tailor, in that order. Leo was studying him carefully, making sure to take down as many notes as he could. Corrin internally groaned at the thought of the inevitable interview that he was going to have to endure. Camilla looked panicked while Iago looked as though he might break something. And Garon just sat there, his expression very much the same. Taking one last moment to enjoy the feeling of power flooding through his veins, Corrin reversed the transformation and once more settled back into his human form, luckily for Corrin but unluckily for the tailor, his armor was still in tact..

Putting the dragonstone back into its pouch, Corrin added, "I apologize for not telling you, my liege. But as I said, I was afraid you would all panic. As can clearly be seen though, in that form I could easily have flown back onto the bridge. I just needed Lilith to grab my stone for me as Hans knocked it out of my hand when I chased him off."

"Chased him off?"

Corrin held up his right hand and allowed a fraction of his power past the stone's limiter. His limb extended into the clawed talons of his draconic form. "At the time, I was only capable of partial transformations. Claws, wings and the like. Hans knocked the stone out of my other one, when I attacked."

Silence filled the room.

Garon's eyes narrowed until they were no more than slits. Something wasn't right. A power had started to seep into the room, and the moment he felt it, his skin began to crawl as his muscles seized up. Corin almost felt an inhuman presence, completely different from Ose, but familiar all the same. _What was it? It doesn't feel demonic...Wait, Arete? But how…_ _No not her, but similar? What the hell is it? Damn, I feel like I'm fifty feet under water- Can barely think!_ Shoving that train of throught to the wayside, Corrin forced himself to focus on fighting off the malignant aura. He felt the power behind that gaze. The former prince wanted to run, to hide, to curl up on the floor and start crying. More than anything else he wanted to apologize, to beg for mercy, anything to appease the king. But he didn't. There was something else in him. Something that was stronger, that whispered soft songs of defiance. Clinging onto that force, he kept his chin high, kept his gaze focused and hard. His eyes did not move from the king's.

What felt like an eternity passed before Garon broke the exchange. "Iago. Send for Hans. Have him brought before me. Now."

"What?! But my king, he just displayed a weapon in the royal chambers! If anything he should be-"

"Iago. If you try my patience again, you will answer my questions in Hans's stead. Am I clear?"

"C-crystal, Your Grace," Iago hastily replied as he ran off to carry out his master's will. He returned shorty, a confused Hans close on his tail.

Upon seeing Corrin, Hans smirked. "Well, well, well, if it isn't the runt. I thought you bit it back at the bridge." Taking a moment to glare at the assembled royal siblings, he continued, "Can't express how… happy, I am to see you again. Thought we'd lost you."

Camilla took a step forward, but Garon held up a hand. He then snapped his fingers, causing Iago to raise a hand, magic already cast. Blue, vines of light crept up from the ground, binding the man's arms and legs, but leaving his head and mouth untouched. He couldn't move a centimeter but he could certainly still speak.

"W-WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON! KING GARON, WHAT IS-"

"Hans, it has come to my attention that you attempted to murder my son, is that true?"

"I didn't touch no princes! Just some Hoshidan filth that-"

"Iago."

The bindings tightened and Hans screamed in pain. Garon waited for them to subside before he continued.

"You would do well not to insult him in my presence," Garon said lazily, as though he were discussing the weather. "Now answer my question. Did you attack Corrin?"

"Y-yes, but- but it was-"

The bindings tightened and extended over the victim's mouth preventing him from finishing his sentence.

"Well I do believe that constitutes a confession," Garon finished dryly. "Guards, fetch Corrin his weapon and bring his retainers into the room. It would appear they have been judged prematurely."

The throne room waited on baited breath as the guards hastily ran off, only returning once they had summoned the three servants as well as brought the Yato. Garon's eyes lit up once he saw the blade. "Well, well, well. Isn't that an interesting development."

"My king?"

For the first time in the audience, Garon smiled. "Later, Corrin, later. For now, we have a criminal to punish. Tell me Iago, what is the punishment for the crimes outlined?"

"Execution, your grace."

"Execution…," the king muttered, tapping his fingers on the arm of his throne. "In that case, Corrin, I want you to carry out the punishment."

"Me, Your Grace?"

"But of course. It was you he assaulted, was it not?"

"Well yes but-"

"And you want revenge don't you?"

"Of course I do, but-"

"Then what? Take up your sword." Garon looked Corrin in the eyes. "The weak _must_ be culled. This man is a liar and traitor, purge us of this monster."

Part of Corrin wanted to argue further, to tell the king that taking a life like this, any life, was wrong. That's what he had always thought, what Hoshido clearly thought. Death in combat was one thing, but this? This was murder.

But there was another part in the prince, the part that had kept him strong under the king's glare. That part laughed at those notions. That part picked up his sword and strode over to where Hans was bound.

 _Do you think we will reciprocate your mercy?_

 _There is no honor in men like him._

 _Put him down._

 _If he lives, he will only try to kill us, to kill our family, to kill our friends._

 _Do you want to allow this man near little Elise?_

 _How about Lilith or Kaze?_

 _Maybe Garon will even send him after the Hoshidan royals._

 _Do you want him to kill Sakura or Ryoma?_

 _Or Azura?_

At such a close distance, Corrin could see the desperate tears welling up in the man's eyes as he realized his own fate.

 _If it is my life or his, then he is already dead. If it is his life or those of the people I care about... then I shall erase him._

In a single, fluid motion Corrin thrust the Yato through Hans's chest, passing through Iago's magic, Hans's armor, and his enemy's flesh as if it were butter. And as the light in Hans's eyes faded into nothingness, Corrin's mind focused as the merciless part of him conceded to the ruthless. It was as if he had relearned a lesson that he had long ago forgotten. Ripping the Yato free, Corrin spared one last look of pity on the dead man before turning his gaze back on the Nohrian king.

Garon laughed. It was maniacal, guttural, and completely disconcerting. When he had finished the King looked back at the former prince. "To think I was so wrong! When you entered this room I honestly thought it would be you lying on the floor in a pool of blood, but no. You have defied _all_ expectations."

Garon rose and began walking forward. "All those years ago I thought there was something special about you. It's why I raised you as a son and not as a knight or noble. I had a feeling. But then, as war between Hoshido and Nohr became ever more likely, I lost faith. I began to think your blood tainted. When you disappeared at the Bottomless Canyon… I thought my fears had been realized. But instead you came back to us. You _won_ the first battle of the war. You chose Nohr. You choose us. " Garon stopped in front of Corrin and put a hand on his shoulder. "Can you ever forgive an old man for making such a terrible mistake?"

"Father… O-of course. I'm honored that you would say such things."

Garon smiled and gripped his shoulder tighter. "I am overjoyed to hear you say that." He released the shoulder and took a step back. "But we have quite the unusual situation on our hands. As you know now, you are not my natural born son, and thus are not a prince. Nor are you really in the line of succession... Were you serious early about your wish to join the Nohrian military?"

Corrin nodded. "I was. I will do anything I can to help end this war as quickly as possible."

"Hmm. I may no longer be able to call you son in public, but in my heart know you will always be just that. And no son of mine is so worthless that they would be wasted as a grunt. Kneel."

Slightly confused at the turn of events, Corrin knelt.

"By my absolute authority as the King of Nohr, I, Garon, in acknowledgement of your outstanding achievements in the first battle against Hoshido, as well as in the exposure of a traitor within our midst, do grant thee the title of nobility as well as the Northern Fortress to rule as you see fit. Now rise, Nohrian Noble, rise and face the court."

Corrin was speechless. He had come into this room worried that he would be killed. Now he was _nobility_?! It was below his previous rank, sure, but anything would be. Rising slowly to his feet, he turned back to see the beaming faces of Xander, Camilla, Leo, and Felicia as well as the shocked faces of Lilith and Kaze. As the applause from his siblings and retainers faded, Corrin turned back to the king and knelt. "You honor me my king, more so than I can possibly describe. What would you have me do?"

"First I would have you tell me of your time in Hoshido. And spare no detail. I would also know of your abilities. How much control do you have over them? And where did you find that stone?"

And so the next twenty minutes were spent in an odd haze as Corrin recounted the rest of his time in Hoshido. Besides the obvious need to lie about the dragonstone and Valla, Corrin also found himself hiding most of the details regarding his private exchanges with Azura. For some reason he felt as though the blue haired princess had more to do with Valla than she had had a chance to tell, and after that feeling earlier he wasn't sure what to think of his king.

"Hmm…," Garon began, after Corrin had finally finished. "So a leopard-like demon killed the Queen of Hoshido and they thought we were to blame… This certainly changes things. Leo."

"Father."

"I want you to return to the Sorcerer's Academy. See if you can't find any mention of demons or the like."

"Of course. I will leave first thing tomorrow."

"Excellent. I would also be interested if you could find anything on dragonstones or the Yato. At this point, there is too much we do not know. Xander, Camilla."

"Yes, Father," the two said in unison.

"You two will continue to wage war as initially planned. Though it would appear there is more at work than we initially thought, I will not have us lose this war because of it. Am I understood?"

"Completely."

"Good. Corrin. I want you to go to a small village on the other side of the Hoshidan border. I've heard reports of odd magic in that area. Before I thought them merely fairy tales but now…"

"Now you think they might be demon related," Corrin finished with a frown.

Garon nodded. "I am sorry to send you out so soon, but you are the only one with first-hand experience. You will find out what you can, and if there is a demon… Kill it. Any threat to Nohr I will see mercilessly crushed. Understood?"

"Of course."

"Excellent. Iago will provide you with maps for the town. Now go! Fly, my children. Take to the four corners of this land and see that nothing stands against you."

* * *

Iago watched as the great doors to the throne room finally closed. He then proceeded to take a moment to cast a Makajam spell on the walls so they wouldn't be overheard. Upon finishing he turned to the king and nodded.

"Well, well. Wasn't that an interesting turn of events?"

"And here I thought you intended to kill the boy off, my liege."

"I did. But if Corrin wishes to grovel at my feet who am I to refuse him? And besides, for some reason he has been given the Yato. Better to have that cursed scrap of metal at my beck and call then kill its bearer and risk it choosing a new master."

"Perhaps my king, but are you not worried over losing Hans? He was one of your loyalist soldiers."

"I would take one with the power of the dragon vein over a thousand of Hans. As to his loyalty... I'm quite sure that at the moment he is far more suspicious then he has let on."

"He's searching for Ose."

Garon nodded. "He will play the role of obedient servant until such a time that he believes he has found the demon's master. At that time he will try to turn my children against me in rebellion."

"Then why take him back? Why not just kill or imprison him and be done with it?"

"Because he is still naive. He is so confident in his own ability that he will not consider that he himself is being manipulated. As I send him across Nohr, from mission to mission, eventually he will break. A little slaughter here, a failure to save a life there. By the time I am finished he will either be a broken shell of a man or he will have acquired a taste for cruelty. Either way, by then he will be my creature. And if he should somehow still try to rebel? His reputation will be in tatters. No one will ever join him, not even his siblings."

"But why send him to the Hoshidan village? We both know there is a rebellion brewing in the Ice Tribe and there's no such demonic activity across the border. Speaking of which, I assume you wish for me to send a detachment of Faceless there as a welcoming party?"

"Correct."

Iago nodded absent mindedly. "But still, why send him to Hoshido? It's like you want the Ice Tribe to rise up."

"As I said before, if he is to serve me willingly, Corrin must be groomed. Finding a Hoshidan village mercilessly wiped out by monsters? He is ready for such a task. But being forced to put down a rebellion of our own citizens, one of which he grew up with? Oh no, he is not ready for such an ordeal. Besides, as it stands now he might've been able to stop the rebellion with no bloodshed. We can't have that, now can we? Let their resentment grow with their strength. And when both are at their most fervor pitch, then and only then will we send Corrin."

Iago bowed, satisfied with his king's plan. As he made his way to the side door at the edge of the throne room, Garon's voice rang out once more. "And Iago. It would appear that you know have someone on your trail. Why, if I didn't know better, I'd say that little outburst during the audience indicates he already suspects you."

The advisor froze and turned back to the king. The old man smiled down at his servant. "Just remember this should you ever entertain any thoughts of betraying me: it would be a terrible shame if Corrin were to discover just who was responsible for the death of his mother."

"Yes, my liege," Iago said, forcing a smile as he did so. "It certainly would be."

As he walked out of the throne room he wondered if he should have told the king. _When his highness channeled Anankos's power… instead of submitting, Corrin's aura turned demonic for an instant. It would seem Ose was telling the truth after all. Hmm, that is quite worrying. In that case I'd better deploy Dis to follow the prince on his journey. If he has the potential to threaten the plan... well we can't allow that now can we?_

* * *

Flora stood at the end of the frozen tundra, basking in the familiar feeling of the snow and wind swirling around her. It had been only a few days since she had left the Northern Fortress, but it felt like a lifetime since she had last stood in front of her village. The soft glow of lights seeped out from the huts that dotted the forlorn, frosty landscape. It was all still here. She hadn't been too late.

Sighing in relief, the maid began to make her way down to the village.

She arrived with almost no incident. Once or twice a child had pointed to her, no doubt confused by her maid uniform, but they were quickly shushed by their parents. Flora could see from their eyes that they knew who she was. And that made the shame all the more poignant.

At long last she arrived in front of the main meeting house. Taking a moment to consciously force herself to stop nervously twisting her blue hair around one of her fingers, Flora took a deep breath to steady herself before pushing open the doors.

Inside was exactly what she had expected to find. There was a group of older men and women surrounding a central table. They were most likely looking at a map of some sorts, as they would intermittently point at the table and mutter something about how it wasn't nearly defended enough. Looking up from their discussions, a blue haired man at the head of the table lifted up his head to look at the room's newest entrant. Recognition filled his face and the wrinkles of his cheeks spread into smile dimples as he rose note of their leader's actions, the rest of the group looked over at the maid. Flora did her best to ignore the looks of pity as they all took note of her outfit.

"Flora, you're back! Thank goodness you made it safely." The man looked around the room. "Where is your sister? No, let me guess. She tripped on her way through town, right?"

"No father, she- she isn't here. Felicia left the fortress a day earlier than your letter arrived to follow rumors of Corrin's survival. By the time I read it, she was beyond my reach. I'm so sorry."

Her father's expression froze and hardened. "I understand. That's a pity; we were counting on her strength for the coming battles." Looking around at the downtrodden expressions that had grown on the faces of his fellows, he hastily continued. "But don't worry, I'm sure we'll get her back before all is said and done. Oh, and Flora, we have a change of clothes back in your old room. You're not a Nohrian hostage anymore. You needn't wear that uniform any longer."

Flora bowed with the grace and practice one would expect from her profession. "Thank you father. I will change immediately."

Her father Kilma nodded. "Excellent, when you're done, please come join us for the remainder of the meeting. We have much to discuss."

* * *

 **Author's Note-**

 **Housekeeping things before we go any further. I've decided to commit to a more regular update schedule. As things stand right now I'm basically updating this randomly when I can, and that isn't really fair to you guys, especially with the support you've shown. So going forward, I'm going to update this every other Saturday, with this chapter being the first and the next coming out on the first of October. I hope this makes things easier for you all!**

 **As to the very obvious changes made to some of the characters and events.** **(Hans is dead and I refuse to apologize.)** **I hope you guys enjoyed them. If you see any issues or have any ideas, please leave a review! Also we are not going to the Ice Tribe yet. It will come! But later...**

 **Thank you very much for reading! If you have questions, critiques, or predictions, please leave a review and I'll do my best to get back to you!**

 **Otaku-Nation666- You're completely right haha I guess I wasn't that subtle at all. I'm sorry if I offended, I was just trying to play along with your previous review. Anyways, thank you for your continued support, it means a lot and I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter!**

 **vampireharry the 2- Thank you very much! Your continued support means a lot!**

 **RealmOfEmptiness- Thank you! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well. (Also he's definitely a madman.)**

 **rc48177- As things stand now, Corrin only has one or two memories from his previous life. Because of that he is still very much Corrin and not the Demifiend. He's just not far enough along where he would have the strength to follow his own path and reject his siblings. (Also Ose's involvement threw things for a loop.) If he were to gain any more of those memories his actions and persona would surely change accordingly. Anyway that's how I look at it, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Disclaimer- This is a nonprofit, fan-based work. All characters and settings belong to their respective owners.**

 **Next Time- Beyond our Ken**


	13. Chapter 12: Beyond our Ken

Once more Corrin found himself standing in the depths of a dark void. Nothingness surrounded him, not even light shined within. It was almost complete solitude save one companion, an entity sitting seemingly on air. It was not human, or at the very least did not appear to be so. Instead of flesh and blood, it consisted of shining lines of blue light. Together they came together to form the shape of a man the same height and body type as Corrin. Most of all though, despite the fact that he barely had a face, Corrin could tell with absolute certainty that it was very, very irked.

" _MORON!"_

Corrin winced at the force behind the voice. "Are you done?"

" _No! You're an idiot! You chose Chaos! Why would you do that? That's almost as bad as picking Law!"_

"I don't understand. Law, Chaos? You're using abstractions as though they're names!"

" _Don't play dumb, you know what they are. UGH, how the hell are we the same person?!"_ The figure in front of him rubbed where his temple should have been. " _No, no, no, maybe I'm the one getting too worked up. What's done is done. After all, your idiotic decisions are set in stone at this point."_

"Wow. You are just a bundle of joy. You know I couldn't—"

" _Betray your siblings? Ya, ya I'd have to be deaf not to have heard the fifty times you've said that."_ Its head moved to the side. If it had a mouth, Corrin would have sworn it was sneering. " _But then again, you DID end up betraying one set of siblings, now didn't you? Everything has a consequence, Corrin."_ The figure sighed and looked off into the surrounding void. For a moment there was an odd silence between the two, the emptiness between them mirroring their environment. That all ended when the figure shook his head in frustrated acceptance. " _Whatever. So, what are we going to do?"_

"Do?"

" _Yes, do. You DO have a plan I assume?"_ Once again irritation was starting to creep into its voice.

Corrin shrugged. "Aren't you me? If so, you should already know."

The figure tensed up and for the first time Corrin felt the soft creep of uncertainty rear its head. Something was wrong. "You do know, don't you?"

" _There's been… a slight change since we last spoke,"_ the figure began. " _It has to do with your friend Azura. Or rather more specifically, that stone she gave you."_

"My dragonstone?"

It nodded. " _That's the one. As you know, that stone works by limiting your powers. That's why your demonic and draconic powers didn't have a spitting contest back in the throne room, they're suppressed to the point of inaction. Unfortunately, that suppression also extends to me."_

"So you're saying that you have no idea what's happened over the last couple of days?"

" _Pretty much. I got a glimpse while you were in the throne room, but that's it."_

The next span of time was spent briefly summarizing the events of the past few days. Shockingly enough, the Demifiend proved to be quite the listener.

" _So that's what happened. Wonderful. It's worse than I thought."_

"It's not irreparable."

" _True, but we will have to be careful. Tell me you didn't actually trust the king."_

"Do I look like an idiot?"

" _You don't want me to answer that…"_

"Ha ha. Very funny. No, I trust him about as far as I can throw him. In my human form that is."

" _Good, then I suppose the next question is what do you want to do?"_

"What do you mean? Aren't we already doing it? I'm heading after Ose while trying to stop a war."

" _No, no. You're mistaken. I'm not talking about your desired end, but the path to get there. What path do you want to walk? Will you rely on your natural powers, the dragon transformations and what not, or will you rely on me, your demonic abilities? Can you embrace your past, or will you leave it dead and buried? There are many valid arguments for both choices, so I suppose I can't begrudge you either way. But please note, you will have to choose."_

"I have to choose? Why can't I use both?"

" _Because life is not so simple. Because in the end, choosing me will mean the end of your life here. It will isolate you. Never will you be able to settle down with a family or find love. None of your siblings or friends will be able to walk with you. You will once again be alone."_

"...Then why would I pick it?"

" _Why indeed?"_

Corrin thought for a moment, considering just what the figure in front of him was asking. In the end it all came down to one thing,

"Ose is still out there."

" _It is."_

"He won't go away. Will he?"

" _Not on his own."_

"So it's up to us then? We don't have a choice?"

The figure leaned forward, as if to look inside the prince's soul. " _There is always a choice. For instance, you've already beaten Ose once. There is a good chance you could put him down for good if you somehow rallied both Nohr and Hoshido to your aid. Or maybe someone else comes along and does him in for you. Bottom line is that there IS a choice."_ The Demifiend leaned back and slowly brought his right arm to bare, leveling a solitary finger at Corrin. " _Now what will it be?"_

He was right of course. He didn't have to walk down the demon's path. But waiting? He had enough of that in the Northern Fortress. Then perhaps his dragon powers. Would they be enough? Hardly. He had seen that monster face to face. He had felt the cold creep of dread as it had moved. The only reason he was still alive was because of the Demifiend. Because of who he was.

There was only one answer.

"I choose you."

The fiend cocked his head to the side. " _Oh? Do you now?"_ His hand that had been pointing at Corrin swept slowly to the right. From his outstretched palm, an incandescent gateway appeared. Its frame was blue and brilliant while the portal itself was dark as night. Following the unsaid command, Corrin walked through the gate.

For a moment there was nothing but shadow. Then light filled the prince's sight. It was the fading light of twilight. The fading sunlight cascaded through the windows in the form of brilliant rays. He was in a small, bare room. Old packages littered the corners and piled up in the corners. A thick layer of dust covered them all. Across from him there was a woman with short black hair and odd clothes. They weren't any type of clothe or style Corrin had ever seen; they were far too smooth. She had a white coat of sorts with a bent down collar paired with black pants and heels. She was facing away from him, but upon hearing his arrival she turned and smiled.

 _I… I know that smile,_ Corrin thought. _I don't know how, but..._

"It's been a while, Shin." She crossed her arms and cocked her head to the side. "I'm glad you're okay. It's been years. The last time must have been the fourth Kalpa all those years ago..."

"I don't—" There was something he wanted to say, something he needed to say, but the words wouldn't, couldn't come. Only a strange emotion he couldn't quite identify.

Her smile changed for a moment. A sadness seeped into it, and her eyes seemed uncertain. "But you wouldn't remember that would you? I should've known. I… I'm sorry." She gestured to the surrounding room."You wouldn't remember where we are either, would you?"

Corrin shook his head. She turned away. He thought he saw a tear in her eye.

"Of course not. Again, I'm sorry. But I suppose the location doesn't matter, anyways. Though you always were fond of Yoyogi park. What does matter is this." The light began to fade from the world as the shadows grew, deepening and expanding. They devoured all of the light that had seeped into the room. When only the smallest point of light remained, the woman's voice flickered through the dying sparkling glow as her body faded into shadow. "But before I go, please remember, Shin, I… I couldn't be prouder of you. Both as your teacher, and as your friend. You've surpassed all of my expectations."

By this point the light had been completely eclipsed by shadow. Only the faintest of outlines remained of the woman. Her body started to twitch, slowly at first but with increasing speed.

" **Freedom is the cliff that overlooks the abyss, the valley of the shadow of death."**

" **The grave awaits even the victor at the end of the road."**

" **Show me your heart…"**

Corrin watched in abject horror as the woman turned back to him, her body moving and contorting as if she were a lifeless marionette whose strings had been suddenly jerked. The prince let out a cry as he saw what her face had become. Where flesh had been mere moments ago was a shining light. As terrible as it was brilliant, the alien visage was similar in shape to a butterfly, but it was rough and crude at its edges. Like if someone had ripped it forcibly from reality. Unnatural. Alien.

" **Fool who bares the name Freedom!"**

" **Because of your name, you will carry the burden of plague, pain, and ridicule."**

" **Do you fear the suffering and humiliation?"**

Corrin took a step backwards, reaching for a sword that wasn't there. "What the hell are you? What do you want?!"

But the figure didn't move, didn't speak, didn't do much of anything. She, no, _it_ just stood there, watching him. Almost as if it were waiting.

Taking a moment to think, Corrin forced himself to consider her question. This must've been what the Demifiend had wanted him to see, to experience. But what was he going to say? _Do I fear suffering? Humiliation? Plague, pain, ridicule?_

Corrin straightened himself up and focused on the being in front of him. "No. I don't. I was prepared to embrace all that and more when I came back to Nohr. I won't- no. I can't back down now. I will accept the consequences of that."

The woman's form shifted, standing up with its head slightly off kilter. Its powerful voice radiated out once more.

" **Fool who bears the name Freedom!"**

" **Because of your name, you will live a life of betrayal, rejection, and defeat."**

" **Do you fear the deceit, the torment?"**

There was no need to consider the question this time. Corrin shook his head. "No, I don't. I have betrayed and been rejected. I have suffered defeat. I watched my mother die in front of me. What worse betrayal could you offer than the one I have already committed? I do not fear your torment."

With the last of the prince's words, the figure faded back into the darkness. Instead, he heard a different voice from behind him.

" _You have spirit, even if you are an idiot."_

Corrin turned to see the luminescent form of the Demifiend sitting down as he had before. He could have been wrong, but he actually seemed satisfied. "So I passed?"

" _Yes, but more due to naivete than strength of will. Though… that is actually strangely appropriate."_

Corrin rolled his eyes. "Then what comes next? You said last time that my powers are tied to my memories. If you are my memories, can't you just show them to me?"

" _Not all at once,"_ the figure replied, holding up a hand to slow the prince down. " _Again, you aren't ready. Not yet. We'll try to start tomorrow and then move on from there. That should be slow enough such that your dragonstone will keep the negative side effects under control."_

"Side effects?"

" _You're turning yourself back into a demon. You do know that right? It's not going to be fun."_

"Wonderful. Ugh, whatever. If that's what it takes."

" _Good. Just be sure this is what you want—"_ It cocked its head to the side as if listening to an unheard song. " _Damn. It seems our time has ended prematurely. We'll have to table this for now."_

Corrin nodded. "Wait, before we go, who was that woman back there? She seemed… familiar."

" _Oh you mean Yuko? Don't worry, you'll know all about her soon enough. She is quite integral to the story after all. Well our origin at any rate. After that she only appears once. Though that is quite the once."_ The figure actually laughed out loud.

By know the landscape had been infiltrated by a thick fog. Corrin could only see the barest outline of the Demifiend. " _Oh, and Corrin. Just a heads up. There are memories that even I don't have. Questions that when asked fill me with dread. So promise that you will always remember: you haven't passed the point of no return. You don't have to take this path. Please remember that."_

* * *

"Milord, please wake up. We have a... situation."

Corrin rubbed his head as he pushed himself onto his elbows. "Ehh, Lilith? Good morning. What smells like it's burning?" It smelled noxious, but also familiar… It took Corrin a few moments to place it, but when he did- "Oh gods, no!"

Corrin, ignoring the fact he hadn't yet put on his armor, jumped to his feet and pushed the flap of his tent open, hoping against hope that he wasn't about to see what he knew was lurking in the center of the campsite.

He was doomed to disappointment. Groaning in anguish and frustration, he turned to his stable girl. "Damn it Lilith! You had one job!"

Lilith grimaced. "My apologies lord Corrin, I was on reconnaissance this morning and forgot to warn Kaze about… it."

"It slipped my mind as well. Damn. Did he…"

"No I don't believe so. Or at least he isn't on the ground convulsing in pain yet."

"Then we still have time. Kaze! Don't! Eat! Felicia's! Cooking!"

"W-what?!" The green ninja stopped , a spoon with an ominous grey substance only a few centimeters from his mouth.

Felicia pouted at her boss. "Lord Corrin! That's mean!"

"Sorry Felicia but I can't have my ninja," _or anyone else for that matter,_ "struck down via demon food."

"Demon food?" Felicia was near tears at this point.

Corrin sighed and choose his words very closely. "Again, I'm sorry Felicia. I know you've been working hard at it but... "

"But your cooking could still use a little work," Lilith finished, resting a hand on the maid's shoulder. "Your sister and I can help you practice when we get back to the northern fortress. But for know we can't take the risk."

"Oh come now, it cannot be _that_ bad." Kaze licked the edge of the food on the spoon. Confusion briefly flashed across his visage before he promptly barfed.

Corrin rolled his eyes and went to grab some medication from the traveling sacks while Felicia began to apologize profusely. "I-I'm so sorry Kaze, I could have sworn it was better this time."

"I have studied poisons all my life. Yet never have I come across something so vile."

Felicia whimpered.

* * *

After the incident with Kaze, Corrin had retreated back to his tent to don his armor. As part of his promotion—or was it a demotion? Whatever. Anyhow, what mattered was that with his being a Nohrian Noble now, the King had thought it appropriate to gift him with a set of armor more becoming of his rank. Instead of the grey plate he had previously worn, he now wore an elegant black plate set adorned with golden ornamentation and a white undercoat. A black cape with the national insignia had been added at the King's request to Corrin's outfit. The blacksmith had also tried to give him some boots. They had been immediately returned. Then Xander had come and tried to force him to wear the boots. Corrin had thrown the boots at him and flown out the window with his dragonstone. Antics had ensewed. In the end, Corrin got his way.

After he had finished getting dressed there was a cry from outside the tent. Exiting, he found his servants in a makeshift attack formation. Their attention was focused on the edge of the site. Felicia was confused. Kaze was focused. Lilith looked near panicked.

Drawing the Yato and taking the spot at the front of the formation, the prince asked his partners for a status report.

It was Lilith who answered. "Corrin, we saw them through the tree. It was… well, it was what we _can't_ talk about."

 _Vallite? Here?!_ "Did we get a direction on the enemy?"

"Yes," Kaze said. "They headed east. Shall we pursue?"

"Yes. But, keep formation. We'll return to the campsite after our return. Everyone ready?"

Everyone present nodded in agreement. Corrin smiled. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go."

The next half hour was spent tracking the enemy through forest underbrush. As always, Kaze rose to the occasion and before long the group had come across a mysterious white gate. It was similar in appearance and nature to the one Corrin had seen during his dream. Its gate was pure darkness. Nothing could be seen as to where it went.

"You're sure this is where they went Kaze?"

"Yes milord."

Corrin nodded. "Lilith what do you think?"

"It's a dimensional gate for sure. As to where it goes, I couldn't say."

"D-dimensional gate?"

 _Damn, we forgot to bring Felicia up to speed._ Thankfully, Corrin's thoughts were interrupted by Kaze. "Miss Felicia, suffice to say that it is a gate to a world very much like our own. Think of it as jumping into a book."

"A book… Ohh, Okay, I think I get it. But will we be able to get back?"

"I think so. Or at least, everyone but Corrin will have a guaranteed return." Lilith offered hastily.

"W-what? Then we can't go in there! We'll have to—" Felicia stuttered before being cut off by her boss.

"Felicia, it's fine. We'll make do. I want to find out why the Val- _enemy_ were wandering the forest. If this gate is what they were searching for…" Corrin let the statement hang for a few moments. "All right, I'm entering the gate. Form up and follow me."

"Right!"

Upon exiting the portal, the first thing he noticed was the lack of flying Islands. The second was that he could already hear the faint sounds of battle echoing from nearby. After taking a moment to verify that his companions had arrived safely, the prince and his servants took off in the direction of the sounds.

* * *

After the four humans entered the portal a figure stepped out of the nearby shadows. At first glance she could have been mistaken for human, save that her skin was entirely light blue and she had no hair at all on her body. Instead she had dark blue tattoos covering her. She wore black scale armor with a brown cape, but carried no visible weapons.

Looking at the portal in disgust, the demon Dis opened up a telepathic link to her master. "Lord Iago, this is Dis of the Yoma. I have a report on Lord Corrin. He has—ugh?!" The message was consumed by static as the link was forcibly cut.

 _Who dares?!_

"Hey! Fun fact, since Shin's not in the world right now, I'm not _technically_ breaking Mety's stupid rules by being here. Neat huh?"

Dis turned on her heels. Searching the treeline, the demon's eyes fell on a petite figure sitting on nearby branch. She was only around thirty centimeters tall and wore a blue leotard. Her wings flapped lazily behind her.

Dis smirked. "A pixie? A little out of your league aren't you, bug? Mind your own business or you might get hurt." She would have said more, but was cut off by Pixie's laughter.

"Ya, ya, let me stop you right there baldy. Two things. First, I am not 'a Pixie,' I am _the_ Pixie." She raised a hand to eye level and smiled evilly down at Dis. "And two, anyone who messes with my best friend gets a Megidolaon upside the face. Speaking of which..."

Pixie snapped her fingers and Dis, as well as everything else within a kilometer, was eviscerated by a magical explosion the likes of which Nohr had never seen before.

* * *

It was odd with how much this new world was similar to his own. Corrin was surrounded by beautiful pine trees and an expansive sapphire sky above him. On any other day he would have loved an opportunity to simply wander around this different yet familiar world and explore. But today, the former prince was all business.

"Kaze, what's your estimate on how close we are?"

"Very close. Probably under thirty seconds away."

"All right everyone, weapons out, keep formation!"

The group burst into a clearing to find a group of seven or so Vallite soldiers in combat with four unfamiliar figures, three men and one woman. As both sides turned at the sound of the Nohrian squad's entrance, Corrin noticed two things. The first was that the Vallite immediately switched their attention towards them. The second was that the other group seemed stunned by their appearance. _No matter, we can sort that out later._ "Lilith, Kaze, provide covering fire. Felicia cover my six."

"Yes milord."

By the time they had voiced their assent, the first of the Vallite had reached Corrin. Parrying the first enemy's overhand strike, he called on his dragonstone, transforming his other hand into its claw form. Reaching forward, the prince grabbed the unlucky fool by the neck. As the Vallite's partner attempted to strike while Corrin was occupied, Felicia stepped in between, swirling on her heels as she parried the ax strike with one dagger and sank the other one into his kneecap, instantly crippling him. The maid then finished the combo with a swift kick to enemy's chest, knocking him back and buying them much needed space. Corrin, still grasping the first soldier by the neck, fired a blast of water at point blank. The first Vallite was launched backwards, cascading into his ally. Before Corrin or Felicia could finish off the two fallen foes, a blast of lightning from the other group of humans flashed across the battlefield, incinerating them where they had fallen.

Looking up in surprise, Corrin found that the group of humans had made a mad dash through the enemy forces, killing two of them while their backs had been turned. By their new formation, Corrin could tell they were trying to connect with his own forces. "Lilith, Kaze, shift covering fire to support our new friends. Felicia and I can handle the frontline enemy on our own."

But as Corrin watched, their new allies shifted formation at the last moment, switching from an arrow-headed shape designed to pierce through the enemy to a pincer designed to surround them. In an instant they had managed to corner the Vallite against Corrin and his servants. Now surrounded and outnumbered by over two to one, the enemy didn't even have a chance. Within a few more seconds it was all over.

Sheathing his sword, Corrin looked around the clearing. "Kaze, do a sweep of the perimeter. Make sure that was all of them."

"Yes milord."

Nodding, Corrin turned at the sound of the approaching warriors. The first of them was clearly the leader and had a dark blue haircolor. He wore a white cape and had an odd tattoo on his right shoulder. On his belt hung a shining sword. Corrin couldn't quite place it, but the blade seemed strangely familiar. The man held out a hand. "Thank you for that, friend. We're lucky that you showed up when you did."

Corrin grasped it and shook. "No need for thanks. If anything you helped us out. We were tracking those soldiers since this morning."

"Oh? And just what might be your relationship with those creatures?" the knight to the blue haired man's right spoke up. One look at him assured Corrin that this man was by and by the most suspicious of the bunch.

Luckily, the first came to his rescue. "Calm down, Frederick. I think they've more than proved themselves by now."

Frederick sighed. "Milord, we've already picked up one suspicious individual today. Do you really intend to add some more? Especially ones with such odd clothes."

"Don't pay any mind to Frederick the wary over there. _Though their clothes are weird…"_ The man held out his hand again. "It's nice to meet you. My name is Chrom."

Once more, Corrin took it with a smile. "Corrin, prince of- sorry _Noble_ of Nohr. Sorry, it's been a very long week and a LOT of things have changed pretty quickly."

"You're nobility?" Frederick asked, an eyebrow raised. "I don't suppose you could provide any proof to that claim?"

"P-proof?"

"Well certainly. Impersonating a noble is a serious offence. And Nohr? You mean the mythical kingdom? That's very odd joke to make."

"Mythical kingdom?" Corrin massaged his temples in annoyance. "Ugh. Sorry, I forgot this is a different world than before. I don't suppose you've heard of the Outrealms before?"

This time it was Chrom who answered. "Only in stories. Why? You aren't actually…"

"My lord, please step away from this charlatan." Frederick raised his weapon. "I appreciate your assistance in dealing with those, 'creatures', but I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you a few questions now."

Thankfully, it was at this moment that Lilith decided to come to her liege's rescue. "Milord, would it not be prudent to show them your blade? Surely the sacred Yato would be more than enough to prove your station and claims."

 _Not to self, give Lilith another raise._ "Of course." Corrin drew his sword and presented it to all present. "As my retainer mentioned, this is the sacred sword Yato, an object of Nohrian and Hoshidan legend."

"I'm afraid we don't recognize those countries in Ylisse—"

"I think it more than covers your claims," Chrom interjected with a chuckle. "Frederick, would you mind helping Corrin's retainer in securing our perimeter?"

"But milord—"

" _Frederick…_ "

The knight sighed in exasperation. "Of course milord."

As Frederick walked away, Chrom smiled apologetically. "Sorry about that. Frederick means well."

Corrin waved the bluenette down. "No, no, I can only imagine how absurd I must sound right now. Now, before we go any further, I have to ask, was that all of those things that attacked you, or were there any more? 'Cause if so we might need to cut the pleasantries rather quickly... "

"That was only the vanguard, there are about twenty more of them hanging back in reserve. From what we saw they were led by two women, one with pale skin and light blue hair, the other with dark skin and white hair."

 _Arete. And Rinkah too by the sound of it. This could get messy._ Corrin looked at the man who had spoken up. He was about his age and very pale in both complexation and hair color. He wore a dark black robe adorned with purple eye-like insignias. By the yellow thunder tome in his left hand, he was the one had blasted the Vallite with lightning earlier.

"Are we in imminent danger?"

The white haired man shook his head. "We managed to lose the majority of them while escaping. I suspect they probably fell back to some old ruins about 3 kilometers back. If I were them I'd be fortifying that position."

"You're sure? Why wait, when they're clearly after you?" _What does Arete want?_

The man nodded again before Chrom answered the question. "Because they know we'll have to attack them. They're within striking distance of a town and have shown themselves to be violent. We have to do something."

"And do something we will," Corrin said with a smile. "Thank you Chrom and umm… Cloaky?"

Lilith stepped forward again. "Milords, perhaps it would be better to get the introductions over and done with? Kaze just signalled that, for now at least, we are secure."

 _Oh thank goodness._ "An excellent idea. As I said, my name is Corrin." Pointing at the two women flanking him, Corrin continued. "This is Lilith, my stable girl, and Felicia, my personal maid. The green haired man is my retainer and ninja, Kaze." The two female servants curtsied.

"Personal maid, what does _that_ mean-" the blonde woman to Chrom's left started to say before Chrom cut her off.

"My turn then, the delicate one here is my younger sister, Lissa."

"I am not delicate!"

"You've already met Frederick of course. And the man to my right I actually only met earlier today, myself." Chrom laughed. "And yet he's already saved my life a couple times! His name is Robin and he's an amnesiac." The man in the dark cloak bowed his head.

"An amnesiac? That's more than a little suspicious... Lord Corrin, please give him some space." Kaze had appeared again at Corrin's side, making the entrance that one would expect of a ninja. Frederick had returned as well.

"At least his bodyguards seem to be sensible enough. I warned you milord that he was quite unusual…"

"Gods Frederick, we're not having this conversation again… Anyway, and I am Chrom. I'm the prince of this country, Ylisse."

Corrin gave him a once over. "You're a prince you say?"

"Yes."

Corrin crossed his arms and tried his best to mimic Frederick's suspicious gaze. "Well then I suppose you have proof of such a claim? After all, I hear it's quite a crime to claim nobility falsely in this country."

Lissa snorted while Lilith rolled her eyes. Chrom merely chuckled and drew his sword. "One sacred sword deserves another. This is the Falchion, forged from the tooth of the divine dragon Naga. It has been passed down in my family for over two thousand years."

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid Nohr doesn't recognize Ylisse—" Corrin was cut off by Kaze cuffing him on the back of the head. "Okay! Okay! I'll stop. Sheesh. Though real talk, you're not like my long lost adoptive brother, twice removed, are you?"

"Umm.. I don't think so?"

"Oh thank goodness."

"You ask everyone you meet that?" Lissa deadpanned.

"It's been a _long_ week."

* * *

Lilith peeked around the side of the tree she was hiding behind. About fifty meters away were the forlorn and decrepit ruins the Vallite had set up as their base. The stable girl could see two of the telltale purple auras of the enemy patrolling the wall. Signalling to Kaze, Lilith watched as Kaze crept up the wall, silent as a shadow. Timing his assent to when the patrolling soldiers passed, the ninja pulled the two unfortunate Vallite off of the wall where Lilith sniped them out of the air with Astral blasts. Nodding in satisfaction, Lilith crept slowly toward the wall where Kaze was waiting to help her up to the top.

After the two retainers had finished climbing the wall, Kaze took out a small hand mirror. Reflecting the light towards the edge of the forest.

Sparing a smile at the stable girl, Kaze mouthed a sentence to her.

" _And now for phase two._ "

* * *

Felicia nodded as she saw the signature flash of Kaze's mirror. Giving Chrom and Robin a thumbs up, the maid drew her knives and took her place next to Lissa. "All right, Mr. Robin. Are you ready?"

The tactician smiled and opened his tome. "Or course. Now, shall we Chrom?"

His only response was the sound of the Falchion being drawn.

* * *

"Ho there! Bandits!"

Arete look out across the treeline as the words registered. Eventually her gaze focused on the three men standing approximately twenty meters from the fortress gate. Her gate. Motioning for her troops to take position, Arete walked over to the battlements to look down on the enemy. Smiling at them, she answered their summons. "Well what do we have here? If it isn't the princeling and his oaf of a bodyguard. And look, you even brought the Fellblood with you! How convenient! I was worried you'd managed to escape when our troops were killed. Tell you what, hand over the Fellblood and I'll leave you and you're little kingdom alone"

The prince looked confused. "What? Are you saying you're not bandits?!"

"Of course not you twit. We are beyond any of you pathetic mortals."

The prince stepped forwards again, still swing his sword like the buffoon that he was. "Then why are you here? Why are you threatening my people?!"

"Wouldn't you like to know? My master sent me for the Fellblood, that pale man standing next you. Hand him over and I'll have all I want. Maybe I'll even leave without annihilating that nearby village. I don't know, I haven't quite decided yet."

Chrom pointed his sword up at the Vallite commander. "You dare! You've threatened my people again and again and threatened the life of a man who's saved my life. I'll die before I hand over anyone to you!"

Arete sighed. "So be it. I'm fine with either way." The woman snapped her fingers and twenty Vallite surged out of the gates. However, the instant they had left the fortress, there was an explosion of astral energy from the windows above the gate, and the portcullis came crashing downward.

Arete's head snapped toward the source of the explosion and then back to the prince and his allies. The first thing she noticed was that they had retreated to the treeline. The second was that two figures had run out from the castle itself and were attempting to flank her troops. By the time they noticed something had happened, five of them had been taken out by blasts of energy and shuriken.

Her first reaction was to roll her eyes and start blasting them with magic. But upon looking closer, she couldn't help but doubletake at the two new troops. _Lilith?! What the hell is she doing here? And that's the ninja that escaped with her and-_ There was an explosion of sound behind her. Turning on her heels, Arete's eyes narrowed as she stared down the dragon that had landed less than ten meters from her, crushing her bodyguards as it touched down.

The dragon's wings shrank and receded back into the prince's body, his scales receding back into cool black plate. A snide smile took form on his face. "Hello Arete. It's been a while, hasn't it. Do you remember me? Last time we met I tried to punch you in the face."

"The false princeling of Nohr. As arrogant as ever I see. Aren't you a little far from home, boy?"

"Aww, thanks for noticing. You're as much of a rancid pile of pegasus droppings as when we last met too."

Magic crackled and flared at Arete's fingertips. "Large words for a little prince who's all alone."

"Oh please. You couldn't even capture me when I was unarmed." Corrin drew the Yato and instituted a partial transformation of his left arm, turning it into a draconic claw. "And this time, I am anything but. Now, shall we?"

* * *

Lilith ducked under an enemy sword while blasting the head off of a Vallite soldier who had been charging Chrom. So far, everything had been going according to Robin's strategy. First, she and Kaze had cleared out the perimeter guards, thus giving Corrin an opening to fly up the walls and attack Arete. Next, they had waited until Chrom, Robin, and Frederick had gone out to draw attention from the enemy and lure them out. With that done, Kaze and her blew up the portcullis supports, isolating Arete and giving Corrin a chance to strike. The former prince had known he wouldn't be able to beat her in combat, but he didn't need to. All Corrin had to do was hold her attention long enough for the rest of them to clear out the rest of the Vallite. After that they could tackle the leader together.

It should work. As long as nothing went wrong.

"Kaze? Is that you?"

Lilith turned toward the source of the question and paled. Walking toward her companion was an oni savage with silver hair, a red headdress, and the signature purple aura of the Vallite.

It was Rinkah.

 _Oh no. This isn't good!_ "Kaze, remember it's not actually her!"

Unfortunately it appeared that her words didn't reach the ninja. Kaze stood there, the battle almost forgotten as he stared, shellshocked, at his reanimated former friend. "R-Rinkah? Is that really…"

"Of course it is you idiot. What does it look like?" Rinkah continued to stride forward, the remaining Vallite who were not engaged with Ylisseans parting for her. "Hell, if anything doesn't make sense here, it's you Kaze."

"W-what?"

Rinkah sneered. "Helping Nohrians? Do you have no shame? Seriously, what do you think your ancestors are saying right now in the afterlife? You've betrayed everything your family ever stood for."

 _That's enough out of you._ Lilith let fly a blast of energy, only for Rinkah to swat it contemptuously out of the air with her club. Signaling for her troops to to go after the stable girl, Lilith suddenly had problems of her own. In the fleeting moments before the three closest minions closed in, Lilith yelled out to Kaze. "Don't listen to her Kaze! She's only trying to distract you! It's not her! She's dead!" Lilith threw herself to the side in order to avoid a sword aimed at her stomach. Grimacing through the dirt and dust kicked up by her roll, all she could do was focus on the advancing enemies. "Ugh, damn it!"

* * *

Corrin ignored the smell of ozone and sulfur that threatened to suffocate him due to its intensity.

He ignored the throngs of battle, even though that din continued to fill the worry he had for his friends.

He ignored the fear for his own life, that desperate cowardice that raked at his insides like a desperate, starving, prisoner.

No, all Corrin focused on was the battle with the monster in front of him. Instinct was his guide and his body his power. Sword and claw, wing and horn, they all flashed in equal measure as the former prince deflected blast after blast, dodging what he could not shatter. But even with everything rising to his call, Corrin knew he could not win. Arete was no ordinary foe.

Batting aside the latest burst of dark magic, Corrin summoned forth his wings and used them to throw himself forward. Transforming his left hand, Corrin used the mass change to switch trajectories, allowing a bolt of blue lightning to miss him by a hair's breadth. Transforming the fall into a roll, he continued to sprint towards Arete, closing the remaining distance in less than a second. Swinging the Yato in an uppercut aimed at her throat, Corrin was enraged to find that her magical shield was still in effect, the Yato merely sending ripples through its surface as the barrier repelled it back towards its master.

Arete sneered. "Are we going to play _this_ game again? You truly are a glutton for punishment. So much like your mother."

Corrin grimaced, but as the barrier sent the Yato back towards his own throat, he quickly spat out his ace. "Phys Repel- Equip." As the sword crashed back into Corrin's neck, he didn't feel a thing. In fact, all he could do was smile as he felt his sword swing back at the woman with an overwhelming force. So strong was the blow, that Arete was knocked back, shield and all. Taking a moment to recollect himself, Corrin couldn't help but smile as shock, fear, and fury cycled across Arete's visage.

An instant later though, the strategist had regained her composure and launched a shockwave of amethyst flame out across the battlements. Ducking under the first wave, Corrin fired a blast of water from his claw at the ground, propelling him high into the air and over the second one. Regrowing his wings and diving down at Arete, Corrin deflected the few magic bursts that came his way and stabbed forth with the Yato.

But this time, his foe was ready. She shot a fiery blast at the ground instead, erupting the area in front of her into a tempest of stone and molten debris. It was like a volcano had erupted in his face. The heat, the light, everything was blinding and oppressive. Corrin barely had enough time to fully transform and curl into a protective ball to avoid the damage. Even his dragon form could not take such high temperatures for very long however, and Corrin rolled off to the side, transforming back to human as he did so.

As he glanced up at the source of his grief, he couldn't help but notice, that like him, she seemed to be panting. This fight was taking its toll, and even someone as powerful as Arete had limits. Though, by the way things were going. He'd reach his first.

 _It can't be helped. Kind of wish I'd learned a new move or two from other me this morning. Phys Repel doesn't do much against magic. Now some kind of explosion-blaster-thingie? THAT would be nice right now._

With no other choice, Corrin raised his blade once more, leveling the point at his enemy's heart. Taking a deep breath, he charged back into thehurricane of sorcery that awaited him.

* * *

"Come on Kaze, you can't seriously be helping this scum."

The ninja remained silent, doing his best to ignore his former friend. Instead he unleashed two smoke bombs, fading out of sight.

"You do know that won't work? Right? I'd hate to think working with a bunch of Nohrians has addled your head _that_ much. But hell, only one way to find out!"

Kaze was thrown off guard by Rinkah jumping through the fog directly at him. A sick, demented smile covered her face. It wasn't a smile the Rinkah he had known would ever be caught dead wearing. Or maybe, seeing how current events were playing out, she would?

After barely managing to parry the club strike with a kunai, Kaze transferred first into a back handspring and then into a back flip, throwing shuriken at every transition. But it was no use. Whatever black magic Arete had used to corrupt Rinkah had given her a much stronger resilience than any human Kaze had ever seen. It was all he could do to stay out of her reach.

"You get it yet Kaze? You _can't_ win. You might as well give in."

Kaze tried to catch his breath, and for the first time since the battle had begun, noticed something. He could hear himself breathing. The sound of battle had quieted down considerably. Chrom and Robin were doing their job brilliantly.

 _She hasn't noticed yet, if I can just keep her occupied…_ Kaze sprinted back at Rinkah, hurling another smoke bomb as he did. Flipping over her flailing attack, the ninja stuck a fire bomb onto her face before doing a front handspring off of her shoulders. The ninja stuck the landing with the grace of a dance as an explosion detonated directly into Rinkah's face.

Turning to admire his handiwork, Kaze was dismayed to find that she was still moving. In fact she was walking towards him, club raised. Rage had consumed her features, gone was any attempt to sway him emotionally.

"You think that's enough? That's not _nearly_ enough. You can't kill me! You're weakling Nohrian friends can't kill me! Even that pathetic Fellblood couldn't kill me as he is now. You have no hope! And now-"

"PICK A GOD AND PRAY!"

Rinkah didn't even have time to look as Frederick barreled into her, his horse galloping at top speed. His silver spear piercing her chest and throwing her back into the woods.

Frederick returned to Kaze's side. "Are you alright?"

Kaze nodded. "Yes, thanks to you."

"Good. my prince would be quite distressed if anything was to happen to you or your friends."

"..."

"Speaking of which, Prince Chrom and Robin have followed after your lord and that witch. We'd best go assist them." He held out a hand. "Get on, this will be fastest."

* * *

Corrin was thrown into the wall after getting launched by Arete's hurricane gales. Even in dragon form, that hurt. A lot.

Transforming back, Corrin couldn't help but give voice to his pain. "Ouch, damn blue-haired-bipedal-pile of pegasus dung."

"Wow, how articulate."

"Bite me. That has to be the fiftieth time I should have broken all the bones in my body today! I think I'm entitled to a little- UGH!" Arete's fireball caught him right below the chest. Luckily, his armor protected him from most of the blast, but the force of the impact still knocked him right back into the wall. "You… you are a _special_ type of bitch."

"Hahaha. Is that all you can do: throw petty insults around? You were doing so well… But I suppose this was to be expected. You're only human after all." Arete raised her hand and a malignant aura surrounded it. "Don't worry though, I'm sure that my master will find a place for you in death."

"You know, somehow I doubt that."

"Hmm? And what could you possible mean by that?" Arete's question was answered a moment later when two men launched a ferocious duel attack from both sides.

"YOU'RE END HAS COME!"

"TIME TO TIP THE SCALES!"

The brilliant golden hue of Robin's thunder magic reflected off the sparkling blade of the Falchion as both weapons met their target. Already weakened from her long battle with Corrin, Arete's barrier crumbled under the unexpected assault. Taking a sword wound to her left arm and a thunder blast to her gut, Arete could do nothing but watch as Corrin transformed his right hand and blasted her off the wall with a well timed water shot. Sighing in relief, he sank down against the now all but destroyed wall.

Rushing to his side, Robin began to check his injuries as Chrom spoke. "Corrin are you alright?"

"Miraculously, yes. Is she dead?"

"No idea. We need to get you to Lissa and Felicia. I'm sorry it took so long for us to to get to you."

"Not a problem as long as I'm breathing."

There was a clatter from down below and Robin spared a second to look up from Corrin's injuries. "Hmm, sounds like Frederick, Lilith, and Kaze were at the base of the tower when she landed. That's lucky."

Chrom smiled. "Not for her."

The trio laughed before they were interrupted by an explosion from down below followed by Frederick yelling at something to come back and fight. It was pretty obvious that the enemy had fled.

Taking a moment to savor their victory, Corrin turned as Chrom continued. "Hey Robin. Did you have any idea who that was?"

"No idea. Though even if I did, I wouldn't be able to remember."

"She did seem to be after you…" Corrin agreed. "Weird."

"Never met her before. At least I think I haven't…" Robin shrugged. "Nothing to do about it now."

"Huh, I guess so. Think she might've been an old girlfriend or something?" Chrom asked.

Robin's face turned red. "W-what the hell are you talking about?"

Corrin snorted. "Chrom, if Robin had a such terrible taste in women, we should have just left him to fate. I mean I don't begrudge him if he likes them older, but she was a WHOLE new level of crazy."

"Shame on you Corrin! That's not how friends are supposed to be! We have to _teach_ him. Not leave him to die."

By that time, Robin had regained his composure. "Please, like I need relationship advice from a completely oblivious prince who breaks _everything_ and a dragon who's been homeschooled all his life."

"Oh? The cat has claws." Corrin said with a raised eyebrow.

"Oblivious?!" Chrom gawked. "We've only been to one town together. What do you know?"

Robin smiled, content to simply, roll his eyes as the two royals continued to tease both him and each other. The trio joked and talked until their friends arrived on top to meet them.

Chrom rose as they filled in, Lissa and Felicia taking their places on either side of Corrin so that they could heal his wounds. "Ah Frederick, everything went well down below I trust?"

"I'm afraid the witch escaped my liege. Along with a silver haired woman with a club. Somehow despite their wounds they were still able to move."

"Remember, they aren't human anymore." Lilith offered. "And those two are far more powerful than their lesser counterparts. Their master has put considerable time and energy into them."

"Why can't I just have one time where my enemy actually dies. Is that too much to ask for?" Corrin groaned.

Chrom put a hand on Corrin's shoulder and chuckled. "Don't worry. If they ever come back, to your world or mine, we'll be ready."

Robin smiled as well. "Whichever one she attacks need only call and the rest of us will be there in an instant."

Corrin nodded slowly, a thought dawning in his mind. "Hey Lilith, could you make a note of which outrealm this is?"

"Huh? Sure milord. But, why?"

Corrin stood, thanking the two women for their help. "Because I get the distinct feeling we're going to come back someday. I don't know when, but I do know that we look out for our friends." _Because gods know I don't have that many nowadays…_ Corrin held out his hand. "Chrom, if you ever need a hand… well I don't know how you're going to tell us, but find a way and we'll come running. That's a promise."

Chrom shook. "Likewise to you. It was an honor to-"

There was a sound like vibrating sheet metal, and the prince of Ylisse was cut off mid sentence as a portal opened under the feet of the Corrin and his retainers, sucking them down and into the void.

* * *

Corrin broke the fall with his face. By the sounds of groans emanating from his retainers, he had a feeling they had had a similar experience. Forcing himself to his feet, he took a moment to look around. From the look of it, they were in an old castle. Everything had a soft glow to it, as if the very stones themselves were full to the bursting with magic.

" **Welcome to my home, Corrin, son of Mikoto."**

Corrin's head swung towards the source of the voice to find an unnaturally beautiful woman with long hair walking towards him and his friends. She had a flowing dress made out of what appeared to be pure energy. Her pale skin contrasted with the green of her hair. Corrin also noticed that she had pointed ears similar to his own.

Coming to a stop, the woman raised an eyebrow. " **Or would you prefer that I refer to you as Shin Managi, Demifiend?"**

 _That is not a good sign._ "I'm sorry, but you have me at a disadvantage. You seem to know a whole lot about me, but I have no idea who you are."

" **I am Naga. I am the Divine Dragon whose fang was forged into the blade you fought alongside mere moments ago. The Falchion."**

"Huh. Umm okay then. Not sure what to say to that."

" **Then speak not and listen. For I have brought you here for a reason and do not have much time."** A wave of apprehension and nervousness flashed on the goddess's face. It was only for an instant, and Corrin couldn't be sure it had even been there it had left so suddenly. " **You're arrival in this land is that of a herald of doom. The appearance of the Demifiend can bring nothing save death and devastation. That is why I must bid you to forsake the promise you made to Chrom and his companions. You must leave this place, this world, and never return."**

"Hold on, what are you talking about?" Kaze said, drawing his weapon. "Milord is not some fiend. And even if he was, what right do you have to prevent us from helping our friends?"

" **So he has not told you yet. I am not surprised. If my intuition is correct, his memories remain shackled. In power he is barely at his infancy. And there he** _ **must**_ **remain."**

Corrin grabbed Kaze's arm, forcing his weapons down and away from Naga. "What are you talking about? What will happen if my powers continue to grow?"

" **I am sorry. There are things I cannot tell you even if I wished to. There are forces at work that dwarf my power by countless fold. Even now, I can only speak to you because I am not truly a goddess or demon."**

"You're not? But I thought-"

Naga smiled. " **I am just one of another race that once called Chrom's world home. Now I act as that world's protector."** Naga's smile turned to a frown as she continued. " **But the forces that follow you, they are beyond my power. If you were to bring that sort of battle to Ylisse… This world would not survive it. Everything would burn."** She chuckled. " **And if I were to tell you much more than that, I would be killed along with my world. There are forces at play that you should be happy you don't remember."**

Corrin thought about what she said. It was terrifying. It would mean that- "Naga, doesn't that mean that those forces will attack my home? That they'll follow me there?" All of his companions tensed up. Though they may not have known what the two were talking about, they could feel the fear in both Naga's and Corrin's voices. And that terrified them.

" **You stand at the precipice of annihilation, Shin Managi. Should you continue to walk forward..."** She smiled sadly at the group, sympathy clear. " **And yet you do not have much of a choice. I smell Ose's filth upon you. And I know the fate of the late Queen of Hoshido. Even if you were to forsake your former self, there would be no guarantee of salvation. You truly walk the path of the doomed."**

"Then why don't you just kill me now? It sounds like that would solve a lot of your problems immediately."

" **It is not in my nature to kill the innocent. And that is what you are now, innocent. But even if I did, that would invite worse disaster than before. I would be forced to pick either Chaos or Law, with the rejected side declaring war upon me. Ylisse would still burn, only in a far worse type of war."**

"Why? Why would my death draw them here?"

" **I appologize, but I cannot say."**

Corrin shrugged. "Well then, no problem. I'll just defeat Ose before it's too late."

Naga laughed. " **I admire the bravado, Demifiend, but please remember, once something has been learned it can never be unlearned."** She shifted nervously. " **And also… the memories that remain hidden even now… If they should surface, all that you once wanted will become unreachable. If that should happen, I foresee nothing but pain and sorrow for you. Please, for both your sake and the of your world, do not seek out those memories."**

 _She's so nervous… Is my former power really that terrifying?_ Corrin shivered. _What exactly have I gotten myself into. What have I gotten my friends into? Do I really want this? Do I-_ The memories of this morning flashed unbidden. The conversation returned as well, and with it, his determination. "I don't have a choice. To protect my world, I will use my power. But I will not bring devastation. If you say that my full memories will cause that, then I'll stop Ose and the demons before my old personality fully resurfaces. You have my word, not as the Demifiend, but as Corrin."

Naga laughed and held up her hand as a portal opened beneath them again. " **I hope you are right, Corrin. Because if you are wrong, then you're world will be in the most dire of danger. Good luck, young prince. If I have my way, we will never meet again. Oh, and take a look at your dragonstone upon returning to your world. There is something that you must see."**

* * *

Corrin looked around in confusion. "Hey, Lilith. This is our world right?"

"Yes milord."

"And Felicia, those are all our supplies right?" He asked, gesturing to the neatly packed bags piled next to where they had dropped out of the portal.

"Y-yes, lord Corrin."

Corrin nodded and looked around at the scorched, barren crater they were standing in the middle of. It had to be over a kilometer in diameter. The only trees he could see at the edges of the hole had had all of their leaves blown off, seemingly by whatever had inflicted such massive damage. "Then where the hell did this come from?!"

Shaking his head in exasperation, Corrin quickly took out his dragonstone as his friends began to load up and continue their journey. At first, Corrin couldn't find any problem. The brilliant green stone seemed as beautiful as ever. However, upon turning it over, Corrin felt a knot of panic take hold in his stomach. Looking down at the stone, a hairline crack where none had been that morning now marred the pristine emerald surface.

* * *

 **Author's Note-**

 **Thank you very much for reading! If you have questions, critiques, or predictions, please leave a review and I'll do my best to get back to you!**

 **So this was pretty obviously based off of the Before Awakening DLC, however, I changed the timing to directly after the first level in Awakening as opposed to directly before. The main reason for this was I needed to introduce Robin as well as give the Vallite a reason for being there. I could be wrong, but I'm reasonably sure Anankos would look at Grima as a threat and act accordingly.**

 **Demons Anarchy of Pride- Welcome back! Yep, things are getting dicey. Hopefully Corrin can pull out on top...**

 **rc48177- Heh heh, you have no idea.**

 **Guest- They probably wouldn't be too keen on it. Though, if they knew his reasoning, maybe...**

 **Guest- We will be seeing more of the royal retainers. But not for a while. There will be a couple pairings, but they will (hopefully) develop naturally.**

 **Disclaimer- This is a nonprofit, fan-based work. All characters and settings belong to their respective owners.**

 **Next Time (Oct 15) - Faceless**


	14. Chapter 13: More Crimes Against Nature

Running.

The faint light of the fourth Kalpa flickered with the intermittent flashes from the young fiend's blades. The normal silence of the foreboding landscape was instead flush with the screams of dying demons.

Slashing.

A dozen demons were eviscerated by a single sweep of power from a purple energy sword. A moment later there was a flash of green light as the second figure healed her partner.

Still running.

"Shin, you've got one on your six!"

The Demifiend flipped and swung the purple blade he held in his right hand, sending a tidal wave of power directly into the despairing face of the demon that had been unfortunate enough to catch up to the pair. Seeing a squad of twenty more following in the distance, he raised his hands and unleashed a Xeros Beat, the myriad of lasers striking them all down where they stood. Not taking a moment to relax, the Demifiend and his partner continued their sprint down the seemingly endless hallway.

"Thanks, Pix! Looks we have another couple coming from down the corner. You'd think they would have learned the last time we were here…"

Pixie grinned as power began to gather around her fists. "Well we DID forget to bring the giant bug swatter."

The Demifiend snorted. "Ya, not for lack of trying on your part."

"Hey! Blasting things gets boring eventually! Hitting things with a ten meter long fly swatter would be _hilarious_."

Shin grinned. "You? Bored of blowing things up?"

"Okay, that may have been a teense tiny little lie…" Pixie conceded before unleashing a Megidolaon.

The hallway exploded with light and the wall reverberated as the blast moved through the enemy demons, reducing them to nothing but fleeting specs of dust.

"So Shin, how much longer to the Twelve Meters of Eternity?"

"Well I smell crap and they're getting significantly more pissed at us for being here, so I'm thinking we're pretty close."

Pixie playfully bopped his head . "Cut the sas, that's my job. Now let's go, we don't have much time before someone actually threatening shows up."

"What? With our luck? _Never_."

Stifling a laugh, the two continued their sprint deeper into the Labyrinth of Amala. Eventually finding the ladder that they had been searching for, the two chose to bypass it, merely jumping down into the pit. If there had been anything unfortunate enough to be waiting at the bottom, it was quickly erased by the combined force of a Megidolaon and two Deadly Furies. The ground was still crackling when the fiend landed with his partner in hot pursuit.

The hallway in front of them was distorted. It was like the image had been stretched and set to a constant rotation, each turn extending and contorting it even more. There was the slight breeze of suction as air was forced into the ever-turning vortex. Even the floor tiles themselves seemed to be affected, with those closest to the portal being everywhere and nowhere in the circle themselves.

The young demon turned to his fairy companion. "What phase is it?"

"Uhh, 1st I think.""

"Alright, well, we might as well rest a little." Shin said, sitting down on the charred ground. Shooting his friend a wary glance, he continued. "You aren't still tipsy from last night, are you? You've been flying a little weirder than usual since we teleported in here…"

"Shin, I am insulted! Insulted!" Pixie shook her fists at him, trying her best to look irritated. Unfortunately, after traveling with her for the better part of a year, Shin couldn't look at the effort as anything less than adorable. "I am not one of your _human_ friends who gets drunk after a couple shots. It would take at least three full, no, seven full barrels to get me drunk!"

"Twelve actually." Shin deadpanned. "It was all very impressive. Dante and I even started making bets on how long you'd last. Then you fell asleep in one of the half empty barrels."

"I remember that much." Pixie shot back. "I'm going to smell like wine for a week. In my defense though, we haven't really celebrated in over a year."

"A fair point. Though I would have thought it had'd worn off by now."

The pair enjoyed a pleasant silence for a small period of time, only ending when the Shin couldn't bear to hold the question in any longer. "Why a giant flyswatter?"

"Because it would be _amazing_. Think of the look on Surt's face when we slapped him with it. No one would see it coming!"

"But it's giant and red! How could they possibly miss that?"

"Well of course they would 'see' it coming. But they wouldn't _see_ it coming."

"How would you even carry it?"

Pixie winked at him. "How indeed?"

"I am not your squire." Shin deadpanned.

"True, squires don't give free rides on their backs. You're more of donkey."

Shin smirked. "You're more than enough of an ass for both of us."

"Says the man who smells like one." Pixie said in a singsong voice. Turning serious she floated up and looked up. "Alright, Kagutsuchi just changed to its second phase. We're good to go."

"Amen." The Demifiend replied. Getting up from his spot the two demons crossed through the portal at the far side of the room. Gritting his teeth at the now familiar sensation of being shoved through what felt like a tiny bottle opening, Shin was relieved to see the familiar forlorn hallway of Hell's Maze. It was a subsidiary of the Fourth Kalpa, and one that he had been to about a month earlier to save another one of his friends. It served as a sort of intermediary for souls, and Shin hoped to find the soul of a man by the name of Hijiri there now, though he knew his chances of success were remote to say the least.

"Alright, where do we start?" Pixie asked as she darted around the room.

" **Where indeed? Perhaps with fire? Yes, for traitors such as yourselves, a cleansing inferno is needed to wipe away your sins."**

Turning towards the noise, Shin saw a figure emerging from the shadows. Bright red with large batlike wings, the demon stepped forward, brandishing a long black pitchfork. The coals of hatred flared to life as he gazed in contempt down at the two intruders.

" **I do not believe we have been acquainted. I am Belial, 68th spirit of the Goetia-"**

"Hey Pix," Shin interrupted. " Remember when you said they would eventually send someone threatening?"

"Yep."

"Guess you were wrong about that."

"Seems so. Total bumbo."

" _Complete_ bumbo."

"The bumboest."

" **YOU DARE!"** Belial screamed as the entire corridor was set ablaze. Temperatures in the thousands of degrees ate at the very air. " **I WILL FEAST UPON YOUR VERY SOULS! I WILL-"**

"Sakukaja." Shin muttered. Before the demon could register what had been said, the Demifiend flew forward faster than even a demon could see. In less than an instant he was at the tyrant's feat. Two purple blades surged into existence and Shin brought them up in savage uppercut, ripping Belial's legs apart. As the monster fell forward in agony, the fiend dissipated the blades, instead grabbing Belial's falling head and thrusting down even has he brought his knee skyward with a force that would have broken a city.

Jumping back and making sure that Pixie had gotten into position, Shin didn't even bother to dodge the myriad fire blasts as they rained down at him. Instead the Masakados magatama blocked the entirety of the attack, the immunities it granted Shin being more than enough to reduce the pathetic firestorm to nothing. As desperation set in, the demon started wildly flailing at Shin, making wide, powerful motions with his arms, tail, and pitchfork. Fire flew from the demon's mouth as Belial attempted to hit the Demifiend. Jumping over the tail, Shin swung his foot upward into a spinning kick, shattering Belial's pitchfork in a single strike. Landing with the grace of a dancer, Shin followed up the attack with three rapid punches, one to the gut, two to the left hip. Looking down at his weapon in despair, Belial did the only thing he could and tried to fly upwards.

Thankfully, his wings were among the few parts of his body, the Demifiend had not yet ripped apart and he reached a respectable altitude quite quickly.

Unfortunately, there was already someone up there waiting for him. Tapping him lightly on the back of the head, Belial turned to see Pixie giving him her very best 'you done goofed' smile. Raising a hand about a centimeter from his face, Belial could only watch in dismay as the fairy detonated a Megidolaon at point blank, sending him flying back towards the waiting Demifiend.

Smiling as he held up his own hand, Shin waited until the demon was a hair's breadth away before firing a Destiny Shot into his foe.

The force of the white colored blast shattered the demon like glass. Bits and pieces flew everywhere, ricocheting off the wall before dissolving into small bits of sand.

Nodding in satisfaction, Shin gave Pixie the all clear sign and the two began to move around the maze with impunity once more. For some reason, none of the other demons there seemed to be in any mood to bother them.

* * *

Like most spirits of the dead, he was blue.

Pixie scratched her head. "Did he always look like a pedophile?"

"I mean- he looks the same to me."

"So that's a yes...?"

Shin ignored her. Looking up and down the figure standing in front of him, it was without a doubt Jyoji Hijiri, though he seemed oblivious to their presence. He wore his signature scale like coat with a pair of plain pants. His mustache gave Shin little ammunition against Pixie's claim. Coupled with the man's shoulder length brown hair, Shin had to admit it was quite suspect looking if they were basing their assumptions on stereotypes. He also still had that demented little hat of his. Besides never actually seeming to wear it, the hat managed to clash with absolutely every other piece of clothing the man wore.

"Alright then, I think we're ready." The Demifiend glanced around the room. "Pixie, you know the plan."

"Mhmm, you bring the pedo-lord back while I blow the brains out of anyone who tries to interfere."

"Not sure about some of the, ehh- 'terminology', but yep, that's generally the plan."

With that Pixie flew off, such that she would be closer to the doors. Closing his eyes in concentration, For the first time in nearly a month, Shin switched his current magatama equip. "Sophia, equip."

As the demonic parasites that granted him his power switched positions, the Demifiend felt a wave of panic. He had grown accustomed to the protection that Masakados had provided. Now that it was gone, he felt naked. Not that he had much of a choice, Sophia was by and far the best healing option that he had. It would only become a problem if he were to say, commit an unspeakable blasphemy or other act of defiance. As luck would have it, that was precisely what he was doing.

Before he took the final step he quickly shook the small set of bells he had brought with him. One shake, two, nothing. The Afterlife Bells had been more than enough to bring back Futomimi back from the dead but then again, this was no ordinary frowned at the depressing yet predictable result. _I should have known. Even the devil himself didn't have enough power to break Hijiri's curse. The Afterlife Bells are nice, but they have their limits. It seems I'm going to have to brute force it after all. Joy._

Holding both hands out towards the spirit. Shin focused his power, allowing the light to flow inside of him. When it felt near to bursting, he unleashed it in a torrent of soothing radiance. "Samercarm!"

As soon as he said the word he knew he had made a mistake. Perhaps a fatal one. From all sides it struck, crushing and harsh, a force from nowhere and everywhere. He tried to shout to Pixie for help, but no sound came out. He tried to move his hands, but found himself incapable.

There was almost nothing he could do. Almost. He still had his trump card, though he would have preferred not to use it. Briefly before the final battle at the tower, he had come into contact with two beings that had claimed to have created the world before Kagutsuchi. They had referred to themselves as Izanagi and Izanami. At the time, Shin had been unsure whether or not they were actually the figures from japanese mythology, but now…

" _You who would remake the world."_ Izanami recited.

" _You who would safeguard our legacy."_ Izanagi continued.

" _Please partake of our might, of our power."_

" _Let it be your guide."_

" _Let it be you hope."_

Reaching deep inside of himself, Shin grasped the small inheritance that Izanagi and Izanami had bestowed upon him. It was barely anything at all, merely a flicker of hope, but combined with the powers of the magatama they became something else, something alien. It was the same power that had allowed the Demifiend to rip a portion of Kagutsuchi's being free. A power outside of the natural order. Feeding that power back into Sophia, the Demifiend was able to amplify the power of the resurrection spell.

It was cyclical, the pain and his power fighting, dancing even, as they pushed and pulled against each other. With each rotation they would both intensify. And just when it seemed as though he would pass out from the pain, there was a minor explosion. The force blasted the Demifiend backward and he was thrown into the wall at the opposite side of the room. In fact he was hurled with such force that he was embedded a good ten centimeters into the wall.

"Shin!"

Silently offering a small thanks to the two deities, Shin pushed himself out of the crater. Dusting himself off, he assured Pixie that he was alright. However, upon further examination, he realized something very disconcerting. "Umm, Pix."

"Ya Shin?"

"I- I can't remember how to use Samercarm."

Pixie looked at him in shock. "What?!"

"I can't remember how." The Demifiend continued. His blood felt as cold as ice. "It had to have been wiped from my mind just now. Perfect. That's absolutely perfect!"

"But why? I mean the only one capable of that would be the Great Will, and that-" Pixie stopped midesnetence as the sound of flesh moving on the ground reached their ears. Looking over at where the spirit had been before, the pair were shocked to see the naked form of a man, lying face down on the ground. As they watched he coughed violently before propping himself up on his elbow. Looking up at the pair, the man's eyes grew wide. "S-Shin? Shin Managi? Is that you?"

For a moment he was too stunned to respond. "Y-yes. But, who are you?"

The man in front of him was not Hijiri. Hell, he was about twenty years younger than the Hijiri Shin knew had been, probably being somewhere around twenty two. He also lacked the mustache that Pixie had joked about earlier. But the most interesting deviation was that his physique wasn't that of a journalist, no, it was that of a soldier.

But the face did look awfully similar… Younger maybe, but damn similar.

"Hijiri, is that you? I mean if so, you look ehh- great? Naked. But great."

"W-what?" The man looked down at himself and his face flushed red. "S-sorry about that. I thought something felt a little drafty. You wouldn't happen to have anything for that?" He added sheepishly.

"Nah, Shin doesn't even have a shirt for himself. I mean, he could give you his pants, but either way we're going to have a naked man walking around." Pixie said with a smirk. Shin could tell by the way she was breathing that she was about one joke away from exploding into a fit of laughter.

Eager to avoid the stream of comments, Shin decided to quickly change the subject. "We'll find you something. Let's just get out of here first, Hijiri."

"Hijiri?" The man chuckled and stood up. "No, please call me Aleph."

"Aleph?" Shin said, testing the name. "Huh, kinda fits I'll admit. But-"

" **A fairy, a traitor, and crime against nature. Poetic. Problematic. Pathetic."**

Pixie's eyes widened in terror as Shin's narrowed in hate. He immediately shifted back to Masakados from Sophia as a reflex. They should have noticed it before, the sick smell of feces and decay had crept up from below, the feeling of dread and despair that wafted over them, and the soft thud of heavy footsteps steadily getting closer.

Aleph tapped Shin on the shoulder, causing the young fiend to nearly jump out of his skin. Wearing a sheepish smile, the naked man asked. "Sorry, I was just wondering, you don't happen to have any weapons on you? Swords? Guns? Anything?"

Shin glanced at Pixie who mouthing the words " _Fly swatter._ " Rolling his eyes at her, he looked back at Aleph and replied. "Nothing like that I'm afraid. I mostly just use my fists. Besides, how would guns work against demons?"

Aleph shrugged. "They worked for me."

"Really?! Pix did you know this?"

"Ehh…"

"You can't be serious." Shin deadpanned.

Pixie crossed her arms. "I don't see why you're complaining, Mr. 'I can fire lasers from my hands!'"

"Umm, I don't mean to interrupt, but we do have a slightly more _pressing_ problem." Aleph interjected. "Now you don't have anything I can use to hit it with. Nothing at all?"

Shin glanced around desperately. Even in the small period of time that they had been arguing, the light of the Kalpa had lessoned and the air grown thick. A sense of decay had spread through the halls as the Warden of Souls slowly rose from his throne to meet them. If they couldn't come up with a plan soon… well, frankly Shin didn't want to think about what would happen.

Pixie was likewise distressed, buzzing around from side to side. She was even running her hands through her chestnut hair. "Ummm. Ummm. Ummm… OH!" She snapped her fingers as her eyes lit up. "Shin, do you still have Masakados's toothpick?"

"Toothpick, what in the hell are you- wait the Lord's Sword? Ya, I've got it in my bag. One sec." Shin began to desperately dig through his bag, throwing what must have been a king's ransom in lifestones and beads to the wayside as he did so. Eventually he found what he seeked. Taking care as he removed the ancient sword, Shin looked up desperately at Aleph. "Will this suffice? It's old, almost impossibly so, but the edge is still sharp and the hilt still strong. I haven't the training or need to use it save as a key. But if you have the skill, Pix and I could use all the help we can get in the coming battle. That being said, if you feel any doubt at all, run. Run fast, and run far. There are no guarantees how this will turn out, and I don't want to think we came down here for nothing."

Wordlessly, Aleph took the sword. Switching it from hand to hand, he tested the weight and balance. He swung it once. Twice. Thrice. And then he stopped. Looking back at the young fiend, Aleph nodded once. He did not run away.

Pixie let out a bemused snort as Shin rose to his feet. At this point they were the only three beings in the area. All the other demons had long since fled. None wished to be present when the Lord of the Flies arrived.

All three stared at the entry portal. Waiting.

"So. You two have experience with the bug?" Aleph asked. Though his voice was barely more than a whisper, there was a confidence to it. There was no fear. No apprehension. Just the glean of a man who had finally managed to regain control of his life.

"Yep. About six months ago. Not exactly a time of my life that I'm proud of, but for a while there I was actually on track to be hell's next top general."

Aleph chuckled. "That right?"

"Unfortunately. Anyways, part of the job interview was squashing a fly. Wasn't the easiest thing to do, mind you, but we managed. Barely. I don't relish a rematch."

"I take it you fell off the career path?"

"You know how it is with those Chaos demons. All fight, all the time. Not the worst thing in the world, mind you, but there are some things that I don't agree with. For one I don't quite like the idea of committing the ultimate genocide just for the opportunity to go fight a war we could very well lose. I prefer the hope life inherently has to the false one that death brings"

He seemed to enjoy that answer, gracing them with a smile for the first time since his resurrection. "For a demon you sure like to talk a lot."

"Oh that's nothing. You should have seen him at the party last night. He was singing, dancing, and yapping up a storm! " Pixie hiccuped and frowned. "Even talked to stupid Yuriko for a bit. Damn succubus needs a Megidolaon shoved right up her- HEY! You know, you should come party with us after this! You know, if we don't die and all."

"You two decided to invade the Labyrinth of Amala after a night of partying?! Shin, I knew you had a couple problems with judgement, you were friends with Isamu after all, but this? I mean, this makes your choice in friends look sane."

Shin shrugged. "Not my fault you were cursed to reincarnate just in time to watch the world die over and over again for all eternity. We were on a bit of a tight schedule. I would have done this before the party, but I kind of needed a bit of a break. You know, killing a god and all. It's a tad tiring."

"I can relate to that."

" _Really?_ " Shin asked, surprised at the statement. Deicide wasn't exactly the most common pastime in the multiverse. _Though it does certainly explain the curse he had. As well as the Great Will stripping me of some of my power for breaking it…_ Then a thought crossed his mind. "I don't suppose you've fought the bug before as well?"

Aleph nodded. "Yes. Once. A… 'friend' and I fought him once at a castle. I think it was called Kether? Anyways, we killed it, but it wasn't easy. Not much of a castle left over afterwards either. Shame, as castles go it was pretty nice."

"I don't suppose you were naked then too?"

"Can't say that I was."

"Damn." Shin swore as the portal began to move and turn as the monster that was coming for them made it's entrance. "You know, if we make it out of this, we'll need to sit down and trade stories. I have a feeling you have quite a few up your sleeve."

"I'd like that. I'd like that a lot." Aleph moved the Lord's sword to a defense position, changing his footwork slightly as he did.

"Alright bug-boy, I can do more than heal this time, and Shin's got backup." Pixie winked at the portal as the first blue, hairy leg bent through it, slime dripping off of it and onto the floor. "Hope you didn't get too comfortable with living, cause I have a Megidolaon with your name on it."

" **Does the wind fear the bug? Does the ocean, the krill? You merely ride the coattails of power, serving as an amusing little toy. A distraction for the Fiend. When your novelty had died, so too shall your body."** A second leg stepped through the portal, followed by two, huge, crimson eyes, mirrored as a fly's are. They were a meter in diameter and were imbedded in the golden skull of a gigantic fly. It must have been over thirty meters in height. Wings came from it's back while a skeletal scepter was firmly gripped in it's right appendage. A tongue in the shape of a human spine slipped in and out of the monster's mouth. The giant ruby spheres turned towards Shin. " **And you. Do not think I have forgotten you, traitor. To think, you had such potential, such promise. But in the end you chose to wallow in your own filth; the dirty mediocrity of a human too short sighted to see beyond the narrow confines of his own limited imagination. A failure of all accounts. And to think you managed to kill me."** A deep sickening laugh resonated throughout the hall. " **With such a weak will, you will not do so again."**

Finally the bug turned towards the final man in the room, naked and unarmed save for a single, ancient sword. Shin could have imagined it, but it almost seemed like the Warden of Souls was nervous. " **You on the other hand… You should not be here. You're presence is a decay on the natural order. Normally I would be ecstatic, but you… no one wished for your return, false messiah. If nothing else, you are the Demifiend's worst crime. Worse than the neutering of Kagutsuchi. Worse than his betrayal of my master. Worse even still than the prolonging of the great battle. You** _**must**_ **be removed."**

"Nor did they desire your return, Beelzebub, Lord of the Flies. And yet here you stand, disgusting and vile. True to your name, a tyrant in all things." Aleph remained still. Though his eyes flared with a sudden ferocity, his body remained cool and focused. "But enough talk, I can barely stomach the sight of you, let alone the smell. Go back to the void."

In the time it took for the Demifiend to blink Aleph had crossed the room. His sword flashed as ancient steel bit into Beelzebub's flesh. Demonic blood spurted forth across the room in a mist of crimson. The fly screamed in anguish and swept his scepter, calling force a swarm of luminescent flies from the ether, each screaming an unearthly hyme. But Aleph did not falter; dodging the first of the bugs while sweeping the next three out of the air with a single swipe of his sword. Backflipping out of Beelzebub's reach, Aleph continued to buy himself space, switching from a flip, to a handspring, to the same defensive posture he had begun with, his eyes still dancing as they asked the demon if it was ready for more.

All Shin and Pixie could do was watch in awe. Together the two of them had fought most of the major figures in most of the world's major mythologies. They had fought Beelzebub months prior. Even with Pixie being reduced to casting only the most meager of healing spells, they had managed to pull out a win. That was unfortunately reminiscent of most of their battles. Ose, Girimehkala, Thor, Sakahagi, the Fiends, even Metatron, they had all been hard fought battles, won by the skin of their teeth and bought by their blood and sweat. But they had done almost all of it alone. Alone they had forged a reputation that sent most of their enemies fleeing in fear when they entered the room.

And now they had help.

Shin smirked as he unleashed another Sakukaja coupled with a Tarukaja. He saw Aleph flinch as the buffing magic took effect, shooting the Demifiend an inquisitive glance. Winking at his new ally, Shin saw relief spread over his features as Aleph realized it wasn't one of the bug's tricks. Meanwhile Pixie had taken to her job as a healer with gusto, casting a combination of Mediarahan and Me Patra. She had also grabbed Shin's bag of supplies and was spitting up Tetraja stones as though they were bullets coming out of a machine gun. With each impact a small shield formed against the flies, and both sides knew that with each fly stopped, the trio would have just another critical instant. One more chance to strike back at the Warden of Souls.

Shin and Aleph then ran at the enemy demon. By this point, it had summoned a new swarm of flies. The new horde was massive, with numbers that must have been approaching the thousands. Each and every one exploded upon impact, either on one of the Tetraja shields, Aleph's sword, or Shin's body, and when they did they exploded in a flash of almighty energy.

Shin remembered the last time they had fought. How even one of the flies had been enough to drive him to his knees. Each and every blow had been a terrifying ordeal. A screech drove him from his memories forcing him to take a moment to punch three of the flies out of the air and grabbing a fourth to crush in his fist. The almighty energy poured over him. He shrugged it off as Pixie's magic healed it faster than it could hurt him. What had he been worried about again? He couldn't quite remember.

If Aleph had been fast before Shin had buffed their abilities, he was lightning after. His actual motion was near impossible to see, only the result of his efforts were clear, with new gashes and wounds seemingly opening on their own as the naked soldier continued to rip apart the Lord of the Flies with his sword. The flies couldn't seem to get a grip on him, they merely dashed from place to place, trying desperately to catch up. Every so often the ones in the front of the pack would erupt into a cloud of dust as they made it just a little too close to their target.

As far as his own efforts went, Shin was doing about as well as he usually did. Which is to say, lasers were being blasted, swords shoved into faces, and fists going through the back of skulls. (Or rather exoskeletons as the situation would have it) However, he realized fairly quickly that fighting the swarm was all but useless. He would have to strike the leader. And as luck would have it, a good portion of his powers had recovered from his fight with Kagutsuchi the previous night.

His blue tattoos that marked him as a demon flaired with intensity as the light around them dipped into the murk of late dusk. The flies, sensing the danger all rushed rushed him at once, only to be blown away by a combination of Aleph's sword play and Pixie's Megidolaons. In less than a second the attack had finished charging. An instant later, the Freikugel he unleashed ripped it's way through space, time, and any of the unfortunate flies that had dared to try and shield their master. Catching Beelzebub directly through the abdomen, there was an unearthly scream as the almighty energy fried it's internal organs. Unable to continue to maintain the flies, they flickered out of existence.

Taking the initiative, Shin sprinted at the beast, jumping over a sweeping attack it made with it's scepter. Landing on the arm, he jumped again this time landing on Beelzebub's head. Summoning two Deadly Furies, Shin began to repeatedly stab them into the Fly's head over and over, digging a little deeper each time he did. While the Demifiend worked on the head, Aleph flew around the monster's legs, making deep sweeping cuts with his sword. Even Pixie forsook healing in favor of attack, diving into the hole that Shin had ripped open with Freikugel and blasting anything in sight. Finally satisfied with the depth of the hole into Beelzebub's head, Shin fired a Magma Axis into it at point blank, indulging in just a bit of satisfaction as the flames erupted everywhere. Jumping to safety, the trio regrouped as the monster lay seemingly dormant on the ground, it's body little more than a wrecked mess of singed limbs and gashes.

Then there was a deep, sick unearthly noise. It took Shin a moment to realize it, but when he did, it chilled his blood. Beelzebub was laughing.

For one sickening instant it seemed as though the bug was about to heal itself. Green light had started to glow around it's injuries, and both Shin and Pixie were spent from both the battle and their previous ordeal merely to make it to the Fourth Kalpa. However, Aleph was not yet tired, and before the healing magic had any opportunity to take effect, he had a sword to the monster's throat.

Without hesitation, the man ripped the sword through Beelzebub's neck, freeing it's head from it's body. Tossing it aside like trash, he was already walking back towards Pixie and Shin as the demon began to fade from existence.

Still laughing it made it's final thoughts known to the trio. " **Down, down, down to the depths my essence flies. But unlike the mortals… it is only… a passing flicker of the candle that is eternity… Until next time… humans. For there will be… a… next time."**

Shin rolled his eyes as the demon finally faded into nonexistence. It truly was amazing how often he had heard some variant of that line. Just because they would eventually reform, most demons seemed to think that dying was only a passing inconvenience. As a result they were always insufferable right up to the end, especially the powerful ones.

"Ehhhh." Pixie flopped down onto his shoulder, exhausted. "Stupid bug. Doesn't know when to quit."

Shin smiled and affectionately patted her on the head. "Aw come on, we've fought enemies a thousand times more annoying than that. Remember Spectre?"

"Ugh. Just ugh. Why would you bring that up? Such a little pain." Pixie playfully punched the side of his head. "Now let's go back home. There are at least three more barrels of wine with my name on them."

"Aww that's my little alcoholic."

"Umm, Shin?" The voice came from their naked companion.

The Demifiend looked over at Aleph. "Huh, what's up? If it's about the lack of clothes, don't worry, we'll find you something back at Titania and Oberon's. Thankfully, the fairies seem to be one of the few tribes to actually wear clothes."

"Well _some_ of us have to be civilized." Pixie said. Despite the fatigue she seemed to be doing quite well. " I mean have you seen the Foul tribe?"

"No. It's not that." Aleph began, clearly uneasy about something. "I was just wondering, would it be possible to do what you did with me to someone else?"

Silence fell onto the group.

"You mean bringing you back from the dead? That is what you meant right?" Shin asked.

"Yes, I'm afraid so."

"Umm, well you see…" Pixie began.

"I lost the ability to do that." The Demifiend finished. "Apparently bringing you back, or rather, breaking your curse was as much a crime against existence as ripping almost a thousand dimensions from the rest of reality. I don't know what you did when you were alive, but helping you almost killed me. Instead it just stripped me of a portion of my power. Sorry, but I don't think I can help."

"But what if she wasn't being reincarnated constantly like I was?" Aleph asked desperately. "What if she was just being tortured here like all the other souls?"

Shin shrugged. "Well that's another case entirely. I mean we've done that twice now, right Pixie?"

"Yep, once with Futomimi and again with Sakahagi." Pixie replied happily. "Though the latter was just so we could kill him again… Such a dick."

"Such a dick." Shin agreed. " Now, my vindictive tendencies aside, if what you're saying is true, we could hypothetically use the Afterlife Bell to bring her back. BUT we would need to physically find her soul. You think you could do that?"

Aleph nodded. "No problem. You might have noticed, but I can be quite quick when I want to be."

"Alright. And you do realize that killing Beelzebub will have pissed off quite a few demons down below. We're not exactly in a good neighborhood you know."

"Understood, this won't take long."

"As long as you realize that." Shin said with a smile. "Pix, would you mind tagging along? Not that I don't trust him, but it would be nice to have someone who's used the Bells before. Also, unlike me, Aleph can't heal himself." Shin stopped and shot Aleph an inquisitive look. "Wait can you?" Aleph shook his head. "Thought so. Anyway, would you mind?"

"No problem. Alright naked man, let's go find your girlfriend!"

"She's not my- ehh actually I guess she is."

"Of course she is! Now let's go. Step one two three. Step one two three." Pixie continued to repeat the chant in a soft sing song voice as the pair ran deeped into the Kalpa.

With nothing left to do, Shin took a seat by the portal, standing guard while his friends did their job.

A few minutes passed as he sat there watching out while his friends did their job. _You know, all things considered, today has been pretty nice._ Shin chuckled. _I guess now's the time where something inevitably goes terribly wrong. Like that would happen._

Mentally congratulating himself on a job well done, he almost didn't notice when a small figure pushed it's way through the portal.

"Hey-Ho, Mr. Demifiend! I need your Hee-Ho-Help!"

 _Oh please don't be something bad. I am begging you._ Shin smiled as the sixty centimeter tall snowman ran up to him. Of all the demons he had been expecting, no dreading to see in the Fourth Kalpa, the little ice fairy had not been one of them. "Hi there Jack, to what do I owe the pleasure? You know Pix and I were going to come back right after we were finished down here."

The snowman started to jump up and down frantically, almost knocking his little blue hat off as he did. "No-Ho! My King and Queen sent me to get help! An army of Law demons are attacking my Hee-Home! Please. We need you Mr. Demifiend!"

"What?!" Shin jumped to his feet and motioned for Jack Frost to follow him. The two demons took off in the direction of Aleph and Pixie in a sprint. "Jack, how many are we dealing with?"

"At least a couple thousand He Ho!" Jack Frost responded in a desperate tone, struggling to keep up with the Demifiend on his little legs.

"How are Titania and the rest holding up so far?" _An army of Law demons. How the hell did they move so quickly? And why for that matter?_

"They're Hee-all right for now. Ongyo-Ki and Yuriko are helping out for now Hee Ho. They were still there from the victory party."

Shin grimaced. "Let me guess, they can't rally they're forces for fear of being attacked themselves."

Jack nodded. "Hee Ho, everyone is really tired from the battle."

 _So did they wait until now to attack so we would be tired? OR is this about Aleph and not related to Kagutsuchi at all? Either way this is bad. REALLY bad. And to make matters worse, I haven't heard anything from Metatron. Did the archangel backstab me after all? No if he was going to do that he would have done it when I was defenseless. This is something else._ "Jack, was it an angel leading the attack or something else?"

"I don't know-Ho. I think it was Odin Hee Ho."

"Wonderful." Shin muttered to himself. _How long can they hold out? Yuriko and Ongyo-Ki will definitely buy us some time, but if they are facing a full army…_ "Pix! Aleph!"

The fairy's head perked up upon hearing Shin's voice, though her smile froze and quickly turned into a frown upon seeing Jack. "Jacky? What's wrong, why are you here? It's dangerous!"

"The Fairy homeland is under attack. Jack says that a couple thousand Law demons have laid siege to it. Titania and the rest of the tribe are putting up a good fight, but they need our help and fast." Shin replied. "Ongyo-Ki and Yuriko are helping as well, but they can't bring any of their tribesmen for fear of drawing attention to themselves."

"W-what?! A couple thousand! That backstabbing, chicken-winged bastard!" Pixie fumed. "Alright Shin let's go! Now!"

Shin nodded and the pair began to run back towards the Portal, only for Aleph to call out after them. "Wait! Let us help!"

 _Us?_ Shin thought. Turning around he say that apparently Pixie and Aleph had been successful in their quest. A blonde woman who looked to be about Aleph's age was leaning onto his arm, obviously still rattled from her resurrection. Like her compatriot, she was severely lacking in the clothing department. _For goodness sake, why does dying get rid of your clothes? At this point the awkwardness is more painful to me than anything else. Though on the current list of grievances against heaven this ranks pretty damn low._ "Aleph, I'm sorry but we don't have time. As things are right now you'll just get in the way."

"Shin this is obviously a trap." Aleph urged. "Think about it. They couldn't come after you here so they attack you where you live. Also, from the sound of it they attacked as retaliation for bringing me back. I can't let you and Pixie get hurt after what you did for us. You saw me during the battle with Beelzebub and Hiroko is almost as strong as I am. If you're going to fight that many demons, you'll need us."

"Oh really? And just what can you do missy?" Pixie said, an eyebrow raised. "Bet you couldn't even cast a Migido spell."

"Try Megidolodyne actually." The woman said with the barest trace of a smile.

"... Alright, I'll admit that is pretty impressive, however-"

"However, it doesn't really change the fact that you both are unarmed and naked." Shin finished. "As much as you may say otherwise, all you would do is get in the way."

"Beelzebub had to have had some treasure lying around. There would have had to be at least a few sets of weapons and armor included in that. Please, just let us find that." Aleph stepped forward and placed a hand on Shin's shoulder. You've helped us more than anyone else ever as. Let us at least try to pay you back. Unlike in the Vortex World, I'm not just going to stand by and make you do all the work. I can actually help you. So please. Please."

"Shin, this is my home. Every second we wait, our friends are going to… No, we can't wait. Please… let's go." Pixie said, her eyes uncharacteristically serious.

Shin looked into his eyes. They weren't Hijiri's eyes. Though he had been a good man, there had always been fear in Hijiri. Always a slight hint of doubt. That had only increased and grown with time. By the point that Isamu had killed him, Hijiri had been a gibbering mess, lashing out at everything and everyone. But Shin couldn't see any of that. Aleph's eyes held the same compassion, but instead of the fear there was only confidence. He actually believed what he said. The Demifiend didn't know if that was encouraging or terrifying.

Shin sighed. "Jack, how long do you think we have?"

"WHAT?!" Pixie shouted, starstruck.

"I don't Hee-Ho know." Jack said. Contemplatively the little demon scratched its head. "Maybe ten more minutes before the damages become irreversible. We need to Hee-elp-Ho quickly."

"Aleph, you have five minutes. Then Pix and I leave. Understand? I'll show you to Hell's Vault. That's where they'll have what you're looking for. Come on."

Aleph nodded and Hiroko smiled.

Pixie wasn't about to let the matter die. "But Shin!"

"Pix, I'm sorry but we don't have time for this!" Shin replied, already leading the way back to the portal, back to the twelve meters of eternity. "As things stand now, even we would have trouble. Thousands of demons with Odin at their head? It would be a coin flip at best! If they are half as good as they say, _half_ , then we might have a chance."

"Grrr! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" Pixie started swearing furiously as the group made their way into the Vault. A couple demons had started to loot the area, probably as a result of Beelzebub's 'untimely' death. Thankfully, it gave Pixie a chance to alleviate a fraction of her frustration. After the dust settled, she turned to the naked humans. "Alright Bums, you've got two and half minutes. MOVE IT!"

True to their word, the pair moved quickly and methodically. Within a minute the two were armed. Within another they had (finally) found and put on some clothes. Aleph had found a gun and ammunition he paired with the Lord's Sword. In addition he had found an old suit of white armor. It had green leggings and a metal earpiece. The stomach area also had a black flexible portion that would be invaluable during a fight.

Hiroko had found an old sword in addition to a semiautomatic pistol. Her armor was crimson in color and featured a white cape as well as the same flexible material as Aleph's.

Shin nodded. He had to admit, now that they were outfitted they certainly looked formidable. "Alright. And with thirty seconds to spare. Not bad. Now-"

"Now, if you don't mind, my home is currently being burned to the ground… So without any further ado let's go!" Pixe shouted grabbing Shin's hair and pulling him back towards the exit. "Alright Hijiri, or Aleph, or whatever the hell you're name is, let's go do to these bastards what we did to Beelzebub."

"Sounds like you had quite the party before reviving me." Hiroko mused as the group raced back to the entrance of the Kalpa at top speed. Jack Frost was riding on Aleph's back and Pixie on Shin's so everyone could run without worry of leaving the demons in the dust.

"It was more spontaneous than anything else." Aleph shrugged. "Though, Shin and Pixie managed to pull their own weight."

"Well that's a nice change of pace."

"My thoughts exactly." Aleph agreed.

"I hate to break up the chatter, mostly because I can _completely_ relate to useless help, but we are here. So let's save this for the inevitable victory party later." Shin said as the group finally came to the large cylinder that acted as a gateway to the Kalpa. After downing a Soma and giving one to both Pixie and Aleph, the Demifiend readied an attack. "Alright Pixie, would you be a dear and open up the portal?"

"Naturally, my good Shin." Pixie said, a small portion of her former humor returned.

And as the portal opened, and the Demifiend unleashed his attack, blowing away any enemies that had been standing in the vicinity.

As the sounds of demon fighting demon wafted across the home of the Fairies, two humans, two demons, and one fiend entered the fray.

* * *

"That can't be it." Corrin asked as the memory finished. The blue lined figure of his other self sitting a couple meters away. "How can it just end like that? They were about to go into battle. Pixie's home was under attack! Was everyone alright? What happened?"

"Woah, woah, calm down dragon boy." Shin urged. Corrin had the faint impression he was trying very hard not to laugh. "We can't very well have you get overwhelmed on the first memory. And if you had met Titania and the other two tribal leaders in addition to Aleph and Hiroko that may very well have happened."

"You can't be serious." Corrin replied, outraged. " _That's_ your excuse?!"

"Was fighting both Belial and Beelzebub not enough for you?" The Demifiend teased. "Or perhaps you'd rather just sleep the entire day away. I mean, you _are_ about to reach the village the king sent us to investigate, but you don't care about that!"

"Yes, yes I totally have better things to do, but still." Corrin conceded while trying hard not to fidget. "These memories aren't like a book or a story. They feel personal. I guess it sounds obvious when I put it like that, but that's still the truth. Pixie and the rest..."

"Calm down, you'll make me _cry_."

"Oh bite me." Corrin spat.

The Demifiend actually laughed that time. "I appreciate the spirit, Corrin. Really I do. But you really do need to wake up now. It wouldn't do to invite suspicion from your allies. They're probably still a little rattled from what Naga said before."

"About that…"

Shin groaned. "Don't bother asking, I'm just as concerned as you are. Why the hell is there a crack in the dragonstone? Was it traveling dimensions or using one of our abilities? Did Naga herself do it to punish us or was it a lucky shot from Arete? Or was it something else we haven't even discovered yet? Regardless, that stone is the only thing keeping our powers from overwhelming us. If it were to break, well I don't know what we would do."

Corrin nodded in agreement. "I'll talk to Lilith and see if she knows anything. She's a dragon too after all."

"A bit of a weird coincidence that. Wouldn't you say?"

"Her being a dragon? I guess I never thought much about it." Corrin said while considering the question. "You don't think she's secretly a demon as well, do you?"

"Wouldn't be the first time I met a demon with that name…"

"Really?" Corrin asked in confusion.

The Demifiend waved him down. "Don't worry. There is no way they're the same person. Suffice to say the demon I know is hardly known for her subtlety." The figure shrugged. "She was an ally anyways."

"Uhh, neat. Good to know. Anyways, are you going to tell me what happened to the Fairy homeland or not?"

If he'd had eyes Corrin was reasonably sure the figure in front of him would have been rolling them. "Look Corrin, I'd love to stay and talk, but you are about thirty seconds from waking up. Let me leave you with three pieces of advice. One, be caring towards your allies. Right now they are probably ruffled from your talk with Naga. Be sure to at least try to put them at ease."

"Makes sense." Corrin agreed. "I'll be try to talk with them later today."

"Second, as we discussed previously, with a memory restored, you should have access to another fraction of your powers. This time it would seem you've regained the kaja spells you saw in the memory."

"The speed and strength buffs?" Corrin inquired.

"Those are the ones. Just for heaven's sake don't do something stupid like try and use Freikugel or any of the other higher level moves. I'm reasonably certain it would kill you. Lastly, As far as Aleph and Hiroko go…" The Demifiend trailed off.

"What about them? They seemed nice." Corrin asked.

Shin stood up and seemed to smile. "I'm honored to say that those two are the best friends I've ever had. Save Pixie of course. I've known them for over three thousand years now and never once within that time have they ever let me down. I'm sure that if they knew we were in this situation they would rush to our aid."

The fog began to encroach upon his vision as the dream faded into oblivion. At this point Corrin had to yell in order to be heard. "That's all well and good, Shin, but what about the battle, how did it end?!"

As the light and fog consumed his senses he heard the Demifiend chuckle. "Oh? That fight? Heh, heh. Suffice to say that it has been well over three thousand years since that battle, and since that day no force from either heaven nor hell has dared so much as look at the land of the fairies."

* * *

 **Author's Note-**

 **Thank you very much for reading! If you have questions, critiques, or predictions, please leave a review and I'll do my best to get back to you!**

 **I'm sorry it happened again! This was originally only supposed to be the first half of the chapter that introduced the faceless. Unfortunately it ended up a little longer than I anticipated. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed our little foray into the Fourth Kalpa.**

 **ALSO- some of you might have noticed Yuriko was mentioned, and as an ally no less. This is probably surprising. (Especially if you've played SMT4.) The main reason for this is that I'm using the Nocturne alignments exclusively. And shockingly enough, in Nocturne the Night Clan is neutral. Go figure.**

 **The main reason we're using that name instead of her demon one is mostly just to avoid confusion.**

 **Now finally, will the fact that Yuriko is Shin's subordinate inevitably cause problems with a certain pony-tailed samurai and his manga loving sidekick? No spoilers, but oh my yes.**

 **Demons Anarchy of Pride- Thanks for reading! And oh ya! True fact: messing with Pixie is scientifically proven to be bad for your health. And yes, Corrin is well on his way to being severely overpowered. It would be a real shame if something were to happen and mess that up.**

 **rc48177- I'm not even going to try and make a joke- that was just plain bad ass. Hats off to you, good sir.**

 **vampireharry the 2- Thanks man! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Guest- This is mostly a variation of the Freedom ending where Shin made a temporary alliance with Metatron. However, as we saw in this chapter, there is hardly any love lost between him and heaven. As far as your theory goes, I can't really say for fear of spoilers. Thanks for reading though and I hope you like where things end up!**

 **Guest- Will we saw Chrom, Robin, and co again? Short answer- coughyescough.**

 **Disclaimer- This is a nonprofit, fan-based work. All characters and settings belong to their respective owners.**

 **Next Time (Oct 29) - Faceless. (For Real this Time.)**


	15. Chapter 14: Faceless

"Oh please, Astral Dragons, hear my prayers. I… I need your help."

Lilith knelt down in the center of her tent. The sun had only barely begun its climb into the sky and already the faint light gave the surrounding forest a beautifully soft glow. Though it was barely dawn, the stable girl was already quite awake. She had already been praying for several hours by the time the sun had first risen. That wasn't much of a surprise though; Lilith hadn't slept much since their recent encounter with Arete, Chrom, and Naga.

It had been less than a day since the group had returned to Nohr from the outrealm of Ylisse. After the initial shock of landing in a crater had passed, the group had tried their best to get their bearings. Eventually finding the path they had taken to get to the portal, their second shock came in the form of all their belongings and bags neatly laid out at the edge of the crater. No explanation was given. No clue.

But that wasn't the worst of it. Another mystery was hardly earth shattering. Hell, compared to interdimensional travel it was almost normal. What was really eating at her was what had happened during the trip.

Now Lilith had seen more than most. Growing up in Valla had seen to that. While most people her age had been worried about chores or playing games, she had been taught to hunt down the ever-shrinking pool of rebels that had opposed Anankos's will. Some of those memories still felt as fresh as the day she had made them, like an open wound that refused to ever heal. Lilith shivered at the thought. She had only been nine at the time of her escape. But those nine years? Almost the first decade of her life? Lilith wasn't sure if she could ever escape those experiences.

She had tried. After escaping from Arete and a small army of Vallite, Lilith had made her way to an outrealm far beyond Nohr and Hoshido. The land of the Astral Dragons. For six years she had trained, learning at their feet and becoming accustomed to _their_ culture, to a way of life where killing was wrong and where life actually had meaning. They had been the first group to treat her as a human being. But it was doomed to end, for though it had been painful, she had known that Corrin, her brother, needed her.

So she left. And for the following six years she had been happy. Where the Northern Fortress had been a prison for Corrin, it had been a paradise for her. The work was nothing to a young dragon and everyone was always kind to her. And the best part? Corrin was always near by. To have a family member that actually cared for her… It was such a blessing.

 _But now? I don't even know anymore,_ Lilith thought bitterly. _I thought that Anankos was the worst threat to existence we would have to fight, but the Astral Dragons never once mentioned demons. What if there are more of them? What if they are just as strong as Ose? And to make matters worse Corrin is… Corrin is…_

That was the worst of it. Ever since the first battle with Ose, something had changed about Corrin and it wasn't just the new and unnatural was his attitude. If she hadn't known him for so long, she wouldn't have noticed, but to her it was clear as day. There was a rashness, a certain recklessness that hadn't been there before. And worse still, a cold calculated rationale that seemed to always be lurking under the surface. At first she had been certain it was just a result of his being under house arrest for over ten years. Nothing more than the product of teenager acclimating to a strange and alien environment.

But then he had killed Hans. In cold blood no less.

 _And now the leader of the divine dragon tribe says that Corrin is a fiend? Is that some type of demon? What does that mean? Why does she not want him to return? Could he be degenerating already? Did Azura pass on the dragonstone too late? Corrin… What's going on-_

"Lilith? Are you awake?"

The stable girl almost jumped. Looking back at the entrance to her tent, she found that Kaze had poked his head in through the flap. "Kaze? What are you doing here?"

"My apologies, but I couldn't sleep." Kaze shrugged as took a seat next to Lilith. "I suppose I'm just a little rattled from yesterday."

"Me too," she admitted.

"I don't suppose you'd want to talk about what happened?" Kaze asked as he slowly entered the room, ever cautious not to make any noise. It wouldn't do to wake the whole camp. "Being a dragon yourself, I thought you might at least have an idea of what was going on here."

Lilith glanced quickly at the tent flap to make sure they were alone. "I- I'll tell you what I can. But please try to remember that I don't have all of the answers."

"Naturally. And thank you," Kaze said with a smile and a slight bow of the head. "Now, that woman said that she was a dragon―" Kaze began.

"A _divine_ dragon," Lilith interrupted with a slight frown.

"My apologies. I'm afraid I am rather unfamiliar with the tribes and politics of dragons."

Lilith winced. He was right, of course. For a moment there she had forgotten where she was. Naga's presence had brought back her memories of living with the Astral dragons in a sudden rush of emotions and feelings. Chief among those being a tedious obsession with the particulars. "I- I'm sorry. An old teacher of mine was very strict when it came to giving the various manakete tribes their due respect."

"Manakete tribes?" Kaze asked warily.

"Tribes with the abilities to change between dragon and human form." Lilith explained. "For example Naga is of the Divine tribe while I am of the Astral tribe." _Well I was adopted into it at any rate. But the less we talk about the Silent Dragons the better…_

"Hmm." Kaze nodded thoughtfully. "So are the Dusk and Dawn dragons that Hoshido and Nohr worship tribes as well?"

"Yes," Lilith admitted. "But they are so old that few if any of them still exist. By the time that Hoshido and Nohr were even founded only four of each remained. But they were far too proud to take Naga's advice. The majority of them continued to battle each other until there was nothing left of them but their feral souls." The stable girl shuddered. "Such a terrible fate."

"You're saying two tribes of dragons fought each other until they were literal ghosts," Kaze clarified.

"Yes."

Kaze ran a hand through his head while he tried to take that in. "And this was because they didn't take Naga's advice? That green haired woman we met in Ylisse?"

"Yes. She was the first to discover the power of the dragonstones." Lilith stopped as a confused look once again took over Kaze's face. "Stones that limit the powers of a dragon. It's why Lord Corrin can control his powers for the most part now."

"Ahh. And she invented them?"

Lilith nodded. "Essentially. To my knowledge the Dawn and Dusk dragons refused to use them along with all of the Earth dragon tribe. And now those tribes are extinct. In addition the Fire, Ice, and Mage tribes have also disappeared from the world, so they are most likely all dead as well. The only tribes that definitely still exist are the Divine, the Astral, and the Silent."

"The Silent?"

Lilith grimaced. "No. Not here. Not now. I will not talk of that without Lord Corrin. And regardless, there are other complications. The curse…" Kaze's eyes widened at the mention of Valla's curse but Lilith continued regardless. "Also, we're dodging the matter at hand."

"Indeed we are. Corrin has changed; you've noticed it as well."

"So, what are we going to do?" the stable girl asked, the pitch of her voice rising with her stress. It was as if Kaze's simple statement, his simple certification that she wasn't just making it all up inside her head, had opened up a set of floodgates inside her. "How can we believe Naga? If what she said was true then Corrin is a― a― But it's Naga… She would never lie. She's Naga. I― I―"

"Lilith, please. You're rambling. Please, calm down." The ninja smiled warmly at her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Lilith flinched at his touch, only then realizing how close to tears she was. "Do you still believe in Corrin?"

"I… I don't know anymore..," she answered. "I want to― but―" _But if Corrin is becoming like his father..._

"Then perhaps we should wait before we pass judgement," Kaze replied. "I too have noticed changes in my lord, but none so severe that he is not still the man I swore myself too. If the day should come that that changes, then I will deal with that then. Today I will keep my vow."

"Your vow?" Lilith asked quietly. _You don't know what I do, Kaze. How can you be so sure? What if Naga was warning that Corrin has started to degenerate? Even now there is a crack going down the side of his dragonstone. What if it was too late when he received it?"_

The ninja smiled. "Yes. I swore myself to Lord Corrin, and I intend to make good on that oath."

"You sound awfully confident for someone who's only known him for a month." Lilith accused. Kaze retracted his hand from his shoulder as if he had been stung by the uncharacteristic vehemence of her voice. A small voice inside her protested that she was lashing out, projecting her frustrations with Corrin onto Kaze. The voice was right of course, she _was_ taking out her helplessness on the ninja. But Lilith ignored the voice, too angry to do otherwise, and over a month of stress and confusion gushed forth from the stable girl. "I thought ninja were supposed to use their heads? Well then think about it! How would you even know if he was different?You don't even know him!" she sneered. "All you did was get saved by an enemy prince and then, like a lost dog, follow him home."

"I _do_ know him," Kaze interrupted, his eyes uncharacteristically narrow with indignation. "And I would recommend you don't confuse anger for me with your anger at your _own_ confusion."

"Oh, it's my fault now?!" she asked incredulously, refusing to back down. "Unlike you, I've known him, served him, for years! And now you think that just because you've betrayed your country you can tell me what's the best action to take?!"

"Lilith, please calm down," Kaze said. From the look of him, the rational side of Lilith could clearly see he was trying very, very hard to hold his emotions in check. "If anything it's Corrin's fault."

"So you admit it!" she was nearly screaming at this point. From the faint sound of falling firewood outside, it was safe to say say Felicia had overheard that last part. At this point the stable girl didn't care. _Let them stare! I don't care. I just want to go back to the way things were. It was the only time I was ever happy..._

"I admit that Corrin is changing," Kaze clarified. "But what I meant was that he was at fault for keeping us out of the loop. But even is he is changing, with current circumstances how couldn't he? The man has been through more in the past month than most have been their entire lives. Of course it's going to affect him."

"OH, blame it on stress. That's―"

But Kaze wasn't finished. "Besides, what of yourself? There are several questions regarding Lilith that have yet to be answered, are there not? For one, how is it that not only is Corrin a dragon, or manakete, or whatever they're called, but also his servant? How is it that this servant of his knows about… 'it' and yet hardly makes a mention of it or its danger, even when in the only place they could possibly discuss it?" The ninja leaned in closer. "Why is it, that someone who knows so much, tells her lord so little?"

Lilith's blood froze. "What are you saying? That I'm a…"

"Hardly," Kaze responded immediately, some but not all of the edge to his voice gone. "I've fought beside you; I put my life in your hands. If you meant Lord Corrin or myself harm you could have killed us easily. What I'm saying is that you are a mystery. A mystery that we can accept because we know _you_. So please, give my lord the benefit of the doubt. I'm sure he will prove me right given time."

Lilith trembled as the ninja rose and turned towards the door. "You… How can you be so sure? About me? About Corrin?"

Kaze stopped. "For one, I don't have much a choice, do I? You two are all I have. Two?" He shrugged. "I don't know. It's just a feeling. But then again, I've always been a pretty good judge of character."

With that the ninja began to walk away. As he went, thoughts fired through Lilith's mind. Guilt, anger, and shame were running rampant. _Why is it he can be so sure?_ she fumed. _Is it because he doesn't know Corrin's heritage? Is it because he hasn't seen what he, no, what_ we _could become?_ She shook her head desperately. _NO NO NO! We are not our father. We will NEVER be Anankos. Never..._

By now she had begun to cry, tears sliding down her face. But through it all, she still managed to speak. "You're still dodging the issue though." She looked up through the tears. "What if you're wrong?"

Kaze stopped. When he replied, there was slight trepidation in his voice. "Pardon?"

"What if you're wrong?" Lilith asked. No longer yelling, her voice was hollow and emotionless. "What if you're wrong and he is going insane or degenerating or a demon or whatever? What if Naga is telling the truth? What if he is possessed by some monster? What then?"

Kaze stood still for while, thinking about what the stable girl had said. In the end he turned to leave. There was nothing he could say, and they both knew it.

 _Because if Corrin is what Naga says he is…,_ Lilith thought, _then Kaze and I may very well be aiding a monster destroy everything and everyone we have ever held dear._

* * *

The smoke was the first thing they saw. About five kilometers away from the town, they were finally able to put an image to the sickening smell they had been enduring for a while. Next came the screams.

At the first one, Corrin broke into a sprint, beckoning Lilith and the other servants to back him up.

 _Corrin, why are you being so rash?_ Lilith thought, struggling to keep the annoyance and trepidation off of her face. _If it is demons, then we'll be slaughtered!_

Then the first of the figures appeared through the trees. It was hulking and brutish, a nightmarish monster taller than any human. Its bulging muscles gave the illusion of a monstrous body builder, in fact it could have been, if not for the sheer size and the fact the it's skin was a sickening shade of green. No face looked down at them, only a cold metal mask.

Lilith's eyes widened. It was a Faceless. A monstrous servant of Anankos and Valla. That wasn't the worst of it though, in reality Faceless were actually―

Her thoughts were interrupted by the monster's roar. Looking up, she almost screamed as the Faceless barreled towards Corrin. It was fast, but not unnaturally so for a creature of its size. Faceless were deadly, but they were not demons. As long as Corrin had the Yato…

"My lord! Your weapon!" Kaze yelled a warning. Confused, Lilith noticed in horror that Corrin had yet to draw his weapon, instead looking at the Faceless with a calm determination.

Lilith raised her hand and focused, readying an Astral blast strong enough to take the head off of the Faceless, but she knew it wouldn't be charged in time.

As the Faceless rushed towards Corrin, Lilith saw uncertainty flash across his face. For a moment his arm twitched upwards as though to catch the Faceless's punch but at the last moment he instead hurled himself out of the way. The Faceless careened past him and into a nearby tree, blasting it into a cloud of leaves and bark with a single strike.

Before the debris had even finished falling, Kaze was already in motion. Shuiken sprouted from the monster's joints, crippling its movement, even as Felicia moved to check on Corrin. All that was left was for Lilith to finish the beast off.

And with a flash of light, she did just that.

"Lord Corrin, what was that?" Kaze demanded as Felicia helped him back to his feet. "You didn't even have your sword drawn."

"Sorry. Guess I just froze up for a second," Corrin said with a grimace. Lilith noticed the side of his right eye twitch. Sighing, he reached down and finally drew his sword.

"Well, at least you're not hurt. What was that?" Felicia asked.

Before Lilith could answer, Corrin piped in. "A Faceless." While Lilith's mouth plummeted towards the ground, the former-prince continued, "Not a demon from what I can tell, but a problem nonetheless." Corrin glanced at the shattered wreck that had been a tree and winced. "Definitely a problem."

She wanted to ask him how he knew what they were called. She wanted to demand that he tell her. But something held her back. Perhaps she was being paranoid. He had probably heard the term while back in Hoshido. Hell, Kaze and the rest of the border guard had no doubt seen their fair share of the creatures. Nohr had always had a penchant for sending them over to harass the country, after all they had been among the few beings immune to Mikoto's barrier. Maybe Corrin had even heard the term in Nohr itself, though that didn't seem very likely.

The point was that it was incredibly possible that Corrin had heard of the Faceless. There was no reason she ought be suspicious of her lord.

But then, why was she?

"They have a weakness to expel and holy magic." Corrin continued, totally oblivious to her suspicion. "I don't suppose any of you have access to that kind of thing."

Kaze looked at him with an odd sense of bewilderment while Lilith somehow managed to shake her head. _How the hell does he know that?! Only Anankos's leading generals and the Nohrian Sorcerer's academy have that kind of information. Where did he hear that?!_

Corrin rolled his eyes and motioned for everyone to follow him. "Figures. Well, they don't seem too bad. Let's just take this nice and slowly. No need for anyone to get hurt."

"B-but, milord what about the town?" Felicia asked, taking a brief moment to glance at the now headless form of the Faceless lying motionless on the ground.

When he finally replied, Lilith could feel the despair dripping from his voice. "Felicia, can't you tell? We were too late. The town isn't here anymore."

"But- but―" The maid looked at both Kaze and Lilith, her eyes beseeching them to come to her aid, to tell her that Corrin was wrong, or that he was lying, or― something. Anything.

But there was nothing to say. For while the group had fought that first Faceless, the screams that they had been running towards had all fallen silent. Smoke still rose from the trees ahead of them, but there was no noise. No life. Only silence.

* * *

The wooden houses were still alight as the group carefully picked their way through the ruins of the village. It was afternoon now, and the sun's light was quick to shine off of the dull soulless helmets of the Faceless that were still lurking in the forsaken structures.

They were picked off as quickly as they appeared. It was methodical. Corrin would either kill them or lure them out into the open and then the other three would intercept the monster with ranged weapons or magic as it charged. Rinse, repeat. Again and again and again.

No bodies. That was the unspoken anomaly that they had all realized. Though their murderers were obvious enough, the victims themselves? Their fate was unknown.

Finally, after what felt like the fiftieth Faceless was dead and gone, Corrin gave the all clear. He told Kaze to scout the forest for survivors, but by this point no one had any real hope that he would find anything. But Kaze, ever the professional, did as he was bade and vanished into the surrounding woods.

"Damn," Corrin swore as he looked down the remnants of a well. "It looks like it's all dried up. We're going to have to refill our skins somewhere else."

Felicia nodded while Lilith just stared at him. "So what do we do now?"

Corrin shrugged. "After a good night's sleep, we'll have to go back. Probably take one of the Faceless's helmets with us as proof of what happened. Other than that, I'll send a letter to one of the Hoshidan border forts. This is technically Hoshidan territory we're in. And though I hardly think they'll be happy to hear we were on their side of the border, they'll want to bury their own. And we can't ignore that."

"And what exactly are they supposed to bury?" Lilith asked softly. _There's nothing left._

He didn't have an answer for that. So instead the trio started to take inventory of their supplies for the journey home. They were almost finished when they hear the faint sound of footsteps from behind them.

Looking behind them, Lilith's mouth fell agape as she saw what had made the noise.

Kaze had returned. And clinging to his back, almost unconscious and with a slight laceration on her shoulder, was a Hoshidan girl about Lilith's own age. A survivor.

* * *

"And that is your report?" the ghostly form of Iago asked, somehow managing to sneer even in the form of a magical projection. "You really expect me to believe that the town was wiped out by Faceless? Faceless that had no master controlling them? No sorcerer to guide them? Do you think I'm simpleton?"

"YES! I think you're complete and utter moron, but that is really besides the point right now," Corrin fumed. "Whether or not there was a sorcerer still here shouldn't matter! A town is dead, everyone is gone, and the only one left is a young woman who still hasn't even woken up!"

"Yes, and your mission was to ascertain the veracity of the rumors regarding _demons_ in the area," Iago lectured, still sneering from behind his mask. "I'm afraid a few Faceless is hardly what I'd call proof of your story. In fact, it calls into doubt your entire story regarding the death of the Hoshidan Queen."

"Milord, Both Kaze and I can vouch for Lord Corrin's story. Both in this and the death of the Queen," Lilith quickly interjected.

"And if either of your opinions were worth a grain of salt that might matter. But seeing as they don't-"

"You will _not_ speak to my subordinates in such a fashion," Corrin interrupted brusquely. "If you continue to do so… Well I don't suppose I would be able to guarantee your safety."

Iago actually laughed. "Are you trying to threaten me, _former_ -prince? Do you think that wise? Not only am I the King's personal advisor, but I am also the greatest mage the country of Nohr has ever seen!" Iago looked down at Corrin and all the cruel mirth was replaced with a cold focus. "The only reason you're still breathing is that my king seems to see some inkling of potential use for you. But should you become more trouble than you're worth... Why I could have you arrested for even looking at me the wrong way."

"And I am a half-dragon who beat back a demon," Corrin replied without hesitation and with the ease and authority of a general. "Do you think I'm afraid of a spoiled brat playing at magic?" Corrin gifted the advisor with a feral smile. "I would rip you apart. The only reason _you_ still have a head is because my father happens to like you. Much like I'd expect a pirate to like a parrot. A pet."

The two stared at each other and for a moment Lilith worried that the threats would escalate into a duel upon Corrin's return to Windmire. As much as she hated the advisor, and she really did loathe him, a fight would only bring Corrin trouble and buy him enemies he desperately didn't need. Eventually, however, Iago broke the silence. "Well it sounds as if his grace is keeping us both safe, now doesn't it?"

"It would appear that way," Corrin conceded. "But that's hardly the Nohrian way, now is it?"

"Agreed. Perhaps we ought reevaluate that arrangement upon your return," Iago finished slowly.

"Milord―" Felicia began nervously.

"I'm looking forward to it," Corrin spat back.

"Absolutely wonderful." Iago raised a hand to break the spell and end the audience. But then, right when he was about to snap his finger, he stopped and smiled. "Oh, but before that, how could I forget? I'm afraid I have some new orders for you. Shame that. Turns out the there has been a bit of a development back home."

Lilith could hear her boss taking deep breath after deep breath, trying desperately to keep his emotions from going rampant. "Oh really? Well. That's just… _perfect_. And there is no one else in the area? My men are tired and we're running low on supplies."

A map made of magical energy appeared at Iago's hand. "Oh what a pity. I'm so sorry about that but I'm afraid everyone else is otherwise occupied. Did you know? We happen to be at war."

Scales started to creep out from Corrin's skin. "I hadn't noticed."

"Hmm. Well your next target is an old castle called Fort Dragonfall. Hoshidan troops have taken it over." A mark appeared on the screen in the central portion of the country. "Needless to say, the fact that Hoshidan troops have managed to pierce so far into our defenses is quite troubling―"

"How the hell did they get so far so quickly!" Corrin fumed, his arm fully transforming in rage. "We've been gone for a week at the very most. Where has my brother―"

But Iago merely waved the question off. "If you must know, this is the result of our press across the canyon. Though we have managed to take quite a bit of territory ourselves, they also managed to sneak a portion of their army behind our lines. This group is merely a splinter cell that was cut off from the rest of their fellows. Isolated behind enemy lines."

"And the reason we can't just deploy my sister's wyvern riders is because…," Corrin trailed off.

"Because they are deployed at the front lines." The advisor crushed the image of the map in his fist as the magical message began to waver and fade. "Now if you'd kindly come back to _our_ side of the canyon, you might actually be able to save more than a single girl before the Hoshidans ravage our country side."

"FINE!" Corrin shouted and swung the Yato, cleaving the magic image into oblivion. Still breathing heavily, Corrin swung back to his companions.

"Felicia, you and I will finish packing up our supplies. Lilith, charter a passage for us by a nearby river. We'll need to restock on water and fish if we're going to have any hope of making it. Kaze, can you take care of the girl?"

"Of course Corrin. But shouldn't we leave her with Hoshidan authorities?"

The prince shook his head. "I'd love to, but the longer it takes to get to Fort Dragonfall the more likely Iago will try to have us executed when we get back to the capitol. If we meet any guards or soldiers on the road we can try, but I'll be damned if we just hand her off to the first traveler we meet."

"Agreed. Alright, I'll see to her." Kaze and the rest walked off to prepare. Contrary to what Corrin had said earlier, it seemed as though there wouldn't be any rest for anyone tonight after all.

* * *

Iago smiled to himself as he finished the message and Corrin ended the spell. Everything had gone as closely to perfect as possible and for the first time in centuries he felt content.

He sighed at the sound of a door opening. He would have liked to have a few more hours to himself, but it seemed as though that was hardly going to happen. _This wouldn't be half as bad if it wasn't that woman._ Bracing himself to deal with his 'unique' companion he put on his best smile and entered the foyer of the mansion to find a woman in the garb a Hoshidan diviner sitting in a nearby chair taking off her sandals.

Looking up at the sound of his footsteps, the woman scowled in his direction. "Really? You're still wearing _that_ form? Ugh, disgusting."

Forcing his smile not to waver, the man replied, "Milady, does it really benefit you to be so cruel? If poor Iago could but hear you, why he would be in tears!"

"What do I care of that slimy little bug? Iago is a stuck-up brat with a god-complex. The only decent thing about him is that he's so mind-bendingly stupid that he hasn't noticed that the damned Demifiend has been under his nose for over a decade," the woman replied with a wave of her hand. "Now, if you would kindly return to your normal form, I could use some help with getting these rags off."

"Naturally, milady," the fake-Iago replied with only a slight roll of his eyes. One flash of light later and he had returned to the form of a handsome man with neatly combed black hair, clothes worthy of a noble, and a slight goatee. "I assume everything went smoothly on your end?"

"Obviously," the woman all but grunted. "I mean seriously, Loki, did you honestly expect anything less?"

"Of course not, but I am required to make sure," Loki replied fluidly. "Everything went according to plan on my end as well. Shin and his allies will be making their way to Fort Dragonfall with all due haste. And upon their arrival…"

"Yes, yes, I'm quite certain we both know what will happen once they get there." The woman's crimson eyes flared with impatience. "I still don't get why I was only supposed to put one command on the charmed Vallite princess, especially a command as boring as that. It would have been _so_ much more fun to just have her stab Managi on sight."

"Milady, you know as well as I that this is merely a test run. We wouldn't want to draw too much attention to ourselves this early into the game, now would we?" Loki lightly chided.

The woman laughed softly to herself as she finished trading the Hoshidan diviner clothes for those of a Nohrian sorceress. "My god Loki, you're like my mother. I was being facetious. I thought demons were supposed to be at least a little savvy. "

"I'm afraid it is often quite hard to tell with you, milady," Loki said through a very forced smile. "And I was under the impression you were an orphan both times you grew up."

"It's an expression, love. Try not to fall _too_ far behind." The woman smirked at the demon.

Loki sighed. Honestly, the things he had to put up with… "Regardless, we probably ought head back to the academy; by now the second prince will have finished his research and be on route back to the capitol."

"A pity, I would have loved to play with him a little," the woman said with a slight sigh. "Oh, speaking of the academy's best and brightest, I ran into one of their alumni on my mission. A dark mage by the name of Nyx. She made the unfortunate mistake of recognizing me for what I am."

"Oh? And how did that go?" Loki asked as if he didn't already know.

The woman chuckled and walked up to the demon, laying a hand on his cheek and giving him a smile so chilling it made the norse god of mischief want to run and hide. "Let's just say that I think we can skip dinner tonight, dear."

* * *

 **Author's Note-**

 **Thank you very much for reading! If you have questions, critiques, or predictions, please leave a review and I'll do my best to get back to you!**

 **First things first- I am sorry for this being late. Work, college, and life in general kind of decided to triple team me all at once and I had to focus on them. As much as I'd love to promise it won't happen again, that's simply unrealistic. Hopefully it won't happen in the foreseeable future though.**

 **This one was interesting to write, though I'm not really sure if I managed to do Lilith justice. In the actual games we really don't get much interaction with her. (You know, besides feeding her and... uh... 'events' near the end of Conquest and Birthright.) Which is kind of sad for a character that had such a good setup. In addition she really is an interesting character, what with her 'unique' relation to both Corrin and Anankos. It's a shame. I kind of wish Nintendo had used her as a foil to Corrin, but eh what the hell. (Who knows, maybe I just want another playable Manakete in Fates.)**

 **Demons Anarchy of Pride- That means a lot to hear! I hope you enjoyed this one as well. Also I haven't had the time to pick up apocalypse yet. (Currently going through Strange Journey and all I can say is that O** **uroboros can go straight to hell.)** **I did look up what DLC you were talking about though, and OH BOY is that some major incentive to buy it. Damn, that setup seems perfect for this story. I'll have to give it some thought to see if I can make it fit. (Might have to work around the whole TDE Demifiend but hey, that should be pretty easy.) Thanks for the recommendation!**

 **rc48177-ROW ROW FIGHT THE POWER! ! ! !**

 **Guest- I'm only planning one ending currently. That being said there might be a one off chapter or two that act as a sort of what-if scenario.**

 **Disclaimer- This is a nonprofit, fan-based work. All characters and settings belong to their respective owners.**

 **Next Time (Nov. 12)- Fort Dragonfall**


	16. Chapter 15: Deadly Fury Pt 1

Her name was Mozu.

That was what the young woman they had saved from the Faceless was called. The day after they had set out for Fort Dragonfall she had woken up, screaming. After Kaze somehow managed to calm her down, they learned that she was from a family of farmers that served under a Hoshidan noble of some sort. A daimyo or some other sort of military officer that had gone off to battle and left his lands defenseless. Left his people to suffer.

Or course she had been quite shocked to find out that they were in fact a Nohrian military force. Kaze's appearance seemed to calm her considerably, however. The familiarity of seeing a Hoshidan ninja truly did wonders for her, and by the end of the third day of travel, she was making easy conversation with the rest of the party. Besides Kaze, Felicia in particular seemed to take a liking to the girl.

Corrin for his part, did his best to put her at ease. But that unfortunately meant keeping his distance for the most part. For some reason he thought that the realization that he had betrayed Hoshido might strike her the wrong way. Curiosity might make the temptation to approach her all the more enticing, but necessity held him fast to his decision.

Towns came and went as they passed through the countryside. As they traveled the verdant fields and pastures of Hoshido slowly transformed into the dark rock outcroppings and vast moss fields of Nohr. Along the way they did encounter a few travelers, mostly just merchants and refugees trying to get as far away from the battle lines as possible, but there was also a good number of Hoshidan troops moving around looking for spies. Never before had Corrin been so happy to jump head first into a bush.

* * *

"Are you sure?" Corrin asked as the latest group of refugees walked back the way his party had come. "This group looks pretty reasonable. They even have a couple kids with them. I'm sure they would be more than happy to offer you place at the table."

Mozu shook her head adamantly. "I told you milord, I'm fine right here where I am now."

"But don't you want-"

Unfortunately the former prince wasn't even given the chance to finish as Mozu quickly cut him off. "Oh no, no, no. Please milord it's just, it wouldn't…" She seemed to squirm around before looking down at her feet. "Sorry, milord. I just don't think I'm ready for that yet."

 _So that's what it is._ Corrin nodded and left her to go back to chatting happily with Kaze and Felicia. _I suppose she just needs time. After an event that traumatizing I can understand the need for a distraction. Even if that distraction is joining a foreign military unit._

Shrugging in indifference he went back to thinking about the much more prevalent matter at hand. His group was only about a half-day's journey from their target and preliminary scouting had been frustratingly difficult. With Mozu's addition to the team, Kaze had taken it upon himself to ensure both her safety and her 'preliminary self-defense training.' The prince shuddered. _It's almost terrifying how quickly she's taken to the bow._ Her aptitude aside, it had added another few responsibilities to Kaze's already long list. And as they didn't know just what they should expect from the enemy, (thanks mostly to Iago's complete ineptitude) Corrin had reservations about sending anyone save his ninja.

 _And thus here we are,_ Corrin thought. _Everyone is overworked and we're less than a day away from the target. Hmph, if I didn't know better I'd say Iago is trying to send us to our deaths. Not that that would EVER happen._

"Ugh. Damn! I wish I could just get a view of the fortress for myself! That would be enough! Just a couple seconds of-" Corrin stopped in his tracks. Slowly reaching back into his traveling pouch, he took out the small green stone that was within. "You know… Last time I checked, dragons _did_ have wings. I wonder…"

* * *

Fort Dragonfall was not a large castle by most standards. Looking at it from the outside, it was little more than a collection of walls and buttresses. But that said, there was an almost unearthly air to it, a sense of intimidation wafting from its every corner. Most prominent of course, was the gate. For some reason or another the architect had seen fit to carve it into the visage of a gigantic dragon. Fangs as large as stalactites hung from the above the door, casting long shadows out across the path leading into the castle. The lanterns and campfires within gave the illusion of flame bursting forth from the dragon's maw even as the small lights slowly floated across the battlements in their ever vigilant watch.

In short, even for a former demon that could in fact turn into a dragon, it was quite intimidating.

From his previous fly-over Corrin had a reasonably good idea as to the structure of the fort as well as enemy placement. Directing Kaze and Felicia as to their positions, Felicia followed Corrin up the path towards the front door with almost complete impunity. Any enemy that did notice them was cut down before they had a chance to raise the alarm. By the time they regrouped in the first antichamber, twelve Hoshidan soldiers were dead.

Nodding in satisfaction, Corrin looked around at his allies. "Not bad. Any unwelcome surprises?"

"Nothing outside of the mission parameters," Kaze replied softly. "That said I feel it is only fit to warn you that we are now in unknown territory. I was unable to infiltrate the interiour of the fort due to the number of enemy patrols. Speaking of which…"

"Speaking of which, where did all those soldiers go?" Lilith finished with a frown. Uneasy, she glanced for a moment at a nearby corridor. "Sure, there were a few out on patrol. But nowhere near as many as you and Corrin said there were."

"Then where are they?" Corrin asked to no one in particular. "Are they waiting for us up ahead? I doubt it. There's no way they could possibly know we were coming, let alone that we're here." _Is this Iago's handiwork? Would he commit treason just to kill me? Unlikely. I'm not that special, or at least he doesn't know otherwise. If he knew I was once the Demifiend that would be one thing, but barely anyone knows that._

"U-umm- Lord Corrin?" Felicia asked with a timid raise of her right hand, almost like she was asking a question during lessons at the Northern Fortress. "If it's not a trap, then why are there so many soldiers here? This seems a little large for a simple raiding party."

He opened his mouth to answer her only to find that no words would come out. She was right. This _was_ weird. Probably should have thought through earlier…

 _There's no time for that now. The longer we wait here the more likely the other soldiers will either A: come back or B: find the bodies of their dead friends. Neither of those options end well for us._ "There's no time for that now. If worse comes to worse we'll fight our way out." Corrin looked back at Kaze. "If it comes to that, you, Lilith, and Felicia stay behind me. My dragon form is more resistant to arrows and spears than your- ehh uniforms." _Note to self- buy servants some form of armor._

"Of course Corrin," the ninja answered solemnly before flashing a half-smile. "Though I am a little surprised. It seems a little late to be worried about how we dress. It would have been nice for you to consider that after our battle with Ose. We have been through quite a bit since then…"

"If you don't want to be fighting naked you'll save the sass until we're safely back in Windmire," Corrin shot back with a smirk. Turning away from his servants, he pretended not to notice Felicia blushing at that last comment. Motioning towards the hallway to their left, Corrin began to lead the way.

The process was slow, and like their purge of the Faceless in Mozu's village it was methodical. But during that battle, a little bit of the tension had left with every kill. Not much mind you; they were still fighting hulking brutes with iron cages for heads. But it had gotten a little easier with each time they proved that these creatures were indeed mortal. This was different. Seeing a barracks filled with empty beds didn't raise their moral. Those soldiers had to be somewhere. They would find them eventually.

And find them they did.

Lilith backed away in horror from the doorway she had gone to examine. For a moment she was completely mute, unable to tell Corrin what was in front of her. Instead she merely pointed to it, leaving her lord helpless to do anything but come forward and look.

What he saw made his eyes widen in shock.

Whatever purpose the room had served before was now moot. Now it was a morgue. The fallen bodies of Hoshidan soldiers piled haphazardly throughout.

Felicia's reaction seemed to sum up the general thoughts of the party. "W-w-what?!"

Kaze was equally stunned, though he tried his best to hide it. "How… how did this happen? Who could have…"

"I- I don't know," Corrin answered. A thought crossed his mind. "Felicia… I know this might be over the line but… could you determine cause of death?"

"Corrin…," Lilith began uneasily.

The clumsy maid began to fiddle with her uniform nervously. "Well, umm, I suppose I could. But, uh, are you sure? There are still a bunch of Hoshidans here. They might come back and find us."

"Felicia, please. I think Lord Corrin might be onto something," Kaze said, nodding at Corrin. The former prince didn't smile. He just turned towards the door, standing watch while Felicia did her work. _So Kaze suspects it as well. Still I hope I'm-_

"Lord Corrin… there's something weird about these bodies," Felicia said, interrupting his train of thought.

 _Wrong_ , Corrin finished thinking as a wave of despair crashed over him. Turning back towards the group, he asked, "What is it?"

Felicia frowned as confusion crinkled her brow. "These injuries… they weren't caused by any weaponry I know of. They look more like… claws or talons even."

Corrin and Kaze's eyes met but before either of them could say anything, Felicia continued, "But… some of these bodies also have minor burn wounds. Kind of like those you would expect from a fire tome."

"So there were two types of enemies?" Lilith asked.

"I don't think so," Felicia answered slowly. "The burns are only on a couple of the Hoshidans. And on those, only minor damage to the wrists."

"So the Hoshidans were most likely holding onto the caster. This mage was a captive. Do you think our mystery magic user freed themselves fight whatever did this?" Corrin hypothesized as he gestured towards the remainder of the slaughtered soldiers.

"I couldn't tell you, milord," Felicia replied, clearly still shaken. "But one thing I can say is that these claw marks are unlike anything I've seen before. They're longer and almost dagger-like. If it wasn't for the entry paths and ripped flesh I would have sworn this was some new type of bladed weapon. And the worst part…" Felicia shivered. "These wounds aren't arbitrary. Whatever attacked these men deliberately targeted nerve clusters." The maid looked at Corrin, terrified but serious. "The attacker did everything possible to make sure these men died as painfully and slowly as possible."

"The wounds weren't immediately fatal?" Corrin asked as the blood left his face.

"N-no. These men would have lived for hours afterwards,. Alive but paralyzed; completely unable to move. Just frozen in absolute agony. This is- This is-"

"This is an excellent reason for us to leave," Corrin cut in. At this point he had had quite enough of the situation. "I think we can all agree that this is just a little bit above what we're capable of fighting right now." Turning towards Kaze, he continued, "We make our way back to camp, we grab Mozu, and then we make a beeline for the nearest town. If there is a demon running around the woods here we'll need all the help we can get."

"D-demon?!" Felicia stuttered out.

"Understood. Though I recommend we set fire to all of the rooms we've been in so far," Kaze replied. "As much as it might hurt to destroy the evidence…"

"We can't afford to have the monster return and pick up our scent." Lilith finished. I believe I remember seeing a storeroom with large barrels of lantern oil back down the hall."

"Excellent. In the meantime, Kaze and I will guard the ends of this corridor. Felicia, can you try to find any evidence we can take back to prove what happened to the King? Preferably something that's not... ehh… you know..."

"Umm, maybe I could find a shield that's been ripped apart?" Felicia answered hesitantly.

Corrin nodded a few more times than he probably had to. "Yes. That. Let's go with that." Taking a second to compose himself, _damn that's a lot of corpses,_ he continued, "Also, Felicia, after you grab a shield, could you maybe check the surrounding rooms for any logs, accounts, records of any kind actually. Let's make this trip worth it if we're going to have to deal with a demon chasing us."

Nodding in acquiescence, the group separated and went about their missions. Taking his post at the end of the hall. Corrin had a few minutes to reflect on just how much a toal this dual life was starting to take on him psychologically. _Honestly, it might be a good idea to get a therapist. And soon. At the very least this has got to count for multiple personality disorder._

Not for the first time, his thoughts went back to Pixie, to a friend he had never really known. But he had, kind of. Honestly the whole idea of having a past life kind of hurt his head. If they were to meet again, would they still be friends? Was she still out there, watching for him? Maybe even waiting for him? It was odd to think about.

 _I think that… someday, I would like to meet her._ Corrin thought. _Even if I never get all of my memories back. Hell if all goes according to plan I won't. But I still would like to talk to her at least once._

Thinking of a reunion brought thoughts of Azura. It had been over a month since they had last spoken. He wondered how she was doing. Was she okay? How as the war affecting her? _What am I worrying about?_ Corrin chastised himself. _She has grown up among the Hoshidan people for most of her life. I'm sure she's fine. Why am I worrying about her? If something went wrong she would have told me._ Corrin drummed a pattern onto the wall as he considered. _We never did get a chance to discuss Valla. I would have liked to speak with her one last time..._

"Lord Corrin, Sorry to interrupt, but I think I found something."

"Lilith if you call me 'Lord' one more time I swear I am going to give you three weeks mandatory paid vacation with the stipulation that you have to hang out with my siblings and me and treat us as equals." Corrin smirked evilly at his stable girl. "You know, now that I think about it, that might be the best way to do things _anyway_ …"

"L-Lor-I mean-Corrin! I- I-" the stable girl continued to stutter uncontrollably.

"Lilith, you had something you wanted to tell me?" Corrin interrupted as innocently as possible. "It must be something pretty important given our current situation."

"That's rich coming from you…," Lilith muttered, her face crimson. "I just wanted to tell you that while digging through the supply room I found the garrison's records. From what I can tell it includes a brief account of what happened to those soldiers."

"Oh?" Turning, Corrin found his servant offering a small Hoshidan scroll. Opening it up, he did a quick scan of the contents. Finding that the dates did in fact seem to support Lilith's claims, Corrin chuckled and pocketed the scroll. Unfortunately he would have to wait until later to have Kaze translate it in full. Though Nohr and Hoshido shared a numbering system by economic necessity, the two countries had vastly different writing systems. While Nohr's had only around thirty different symbols for sounds, Hoshido's had thousands. Worse, some of the symbols were used differently depending on context, social standing, or tense. Corrin had done his best to pick up a little of the language while in Hoshido but he really just hadn't had the time needed to master it. "Excellent job. You know Lilith, you do a lot of great work…"

"Corrin, is now really the time to make a joke? Especially one you already made less than a minute ago," Lilith deadpanned.

"Sorry about that," the former-prince replied sheepishly. "I thought the jokes would lighten the mood a little."

"Maybe if they were halfway decent…," the stable girl droned.

"Perhaps. But there was some truth to what I said. If you hadn't been there that day I fell into the Bottomless canyon I wouldn't be here today. I owe you my life Lilith."

"Corrin I- it was nothing. I was just- just doing my job," Lilith muttered, looking away.

"Was jumping into a canyon after me part of your job?" Corrin asked incredulously. "Seriously Lilith, I understand you're trying to be modest here but in all honesty the only reason you haven't been rewarded yet is we were deployed the instant we returned to the capitol. I promise that once we get back-"

"NO!" Lilith yelled. The instant the words left her mouth her hands shot up to cover it as she remembered just where they were were having this conversation. In barely more than a whisper she explained, "What I mean is, I don't mind being just another one of your servants. I like it. Really. If they were to try and reward me I might get transferred… and- and that would be the worst."

"But, what do you- why are you? Lilith you saved a prince, or a noble, or whatever the hell I am. That's worth at least a small title in and of itself. Don't you want to make a better life for yourself? If you ever start a family, don't you want to make a better life for them? Why are you so obsessed with being my servant?" Corrin trailed off as he realized the effect his words were having on Lilith. He might as well have hit her the way she looked.

Near tears, her eyes buzzing this way and that, looking anywhere but directly at him, she was biting her lip if only to hold all her emotions inside. Corrin's confusion broke under the weight of his regret. "Never mind! Please, I'm not saying I want you to leave! It's not like I don't like you, I mean seriously, you're one of the best people I know. There's no one I'd rather have at my side. It's just… I don't understand why you think I'm worth this kind of attention. Is it just because you saved my life?"

The stable girl's breathing began to even out as she finally returned eye contact with Corrin. "No, please milor- sorry, Corrin. It's just my time serving you has been, well it's been the happiest portion of my life. I'd give anything to keep it that way." Lilith smiled forcibly. "So you see Corrin. This _is_ what I want. No reward or title could compare to this."

Corrin shook his head in reluctant acceptance. If his newly resurgent memories had taught him anything, it was that submission and servitude were the easiest way to get yourself killed or worse. Why would any being willingly yoke themselves to another? Why give up your free will like that? Such law-based thinking went against everything he believed in. In short, none of this made any sense to him, but who was he to say what she did or didn't want? As long as it made her happy it was fine with him. If he tried to impose his views on her, well, then he was just as bad as his enemies. "Well I suppose if that's what you want." Corrin smirked back at her and patted her shoulder. "Besides we dragons have to stick together after-"

He stopped mid sentence as what he was saying registered. _We dragons. In all of Hoshido and Nohr, in all the entire world, Lilith gets injured in my backyard. Lilith. The only other dragon I've ever met in this dimension, is found by me. Another dragon._ The odds were astronomically against something like that. The chances, so slim that they weren't even worth mentioning. And what had she said back in Valla? " _The ninja Kaze can't use the portal we were planning on using. It only works for very specific people, and he just isn't one of them. There's no way we could get him through it._ " Very specific people. Did that mean it would only work for dragons? Had she known then? Had she found him because of what he was?

"Lilith…," Corrin began slowly, watching carefully as Lilith's eyes widened. _Does she know what I'm going to ask here?_ "About my ability to transform into a dragon… how long have you-"

Whatever fated end conversation might have had evaporated as a wave of energy rippled through the air, through the walls, through the very ground they stood upon. The golden energy of a Dragon Vein erupted all around them, the intensity forcing Corrin to clutch his dragonstone as a safeguard against his demonic side while Lilith leaned against the wall for support. A moment later, the wave passed. Both Corrin and Lilith glanced rapidly around the hallway, desperately trying to ascertain what the Vein had changed. Finding nothing, Corrin motioned for Lilith to stay quiet and follow him.

 _A Dragon Vein is a special power native to both the royal family of Nohr and the royal family of Hoshido. By harnessing that power, a royal has the ability to manipulate and change the surrounding environment. Basically releasing a torrent of magic that's been building up for generations._ Corrin thought grimly as he and Lilith searched for Kaze and Felicia. _So that means a royal is here… Ryoma. Hinoka. Takumi. Sakura. Azura. Who is it? And what are they hoping to accomplish?_

Dragon veins were not a force that any wiseman would take lightly. There were several well documented historical accounts of a single dragon vein wiping out an entire army. Lightning from the sky, the earth opening up, tidal waves, the list went on and on. The fact that one was being used here and now, and in Nohrian territory no less, was not a good sign.

"Kaze," Corrin hissed as the pair finally reconvened with their other two members. "We're moving up our schedule. Lilith finished dousing everything so we set the fire and run like hell."

The ninja nodded. "Understood. But what's with the sudden change in attitude?"

"R-right. I just found what looks like a box full of ledgers," Felicia added. "These could help us hunt down their supply chains."

"No time, a dragon vein just triggered, and that means one of two things. One, we're about to get hit with something exceptionally nasty. Two, we're about to get hit with something exceptionally nasty while having to fight Ryoma." Kaze paled as Corrin said the high prince's name. "Either way, it's probably safe to say that they know we're here. So let's make like a jester at Xander's birthday and get the hell out of-"

Drip.

Hsssssssssss.

Drip.

Hsssssssssss.

Corrin slowly turned toward the direction the sound had come. On the ground there was a small pool of yellow, bubbling liquid. It was almost luminescent. Then a droplet of the same liquid fell into the puddle sending a ripple throughout. A small portion of the liquid splashed out when the droplet hit, landing on some of the nearby clothing that had belonged to the fallen Hoshidan soldiers. The moment the liquid hit, it started to smoke and fizzle, burning its way through the cloth.

It was acidic.

Looking up, Corrin felt sick to his stomach as he saw that the stones that made up the ceiling had more of the yellow acid leaking out from between them. More and more of it was starting to fall. By now the first puddle they had seen was about sixty centimeters wide and gods knew how deep.

"Lilith, didn't you say earlier that this fortress was once an actual dragon?" Kaze asked. For once he sounded as though he might actually be nervous, his calm demeanor slipping ever so slightly.

Lilith nodded slowly. "That is what the legends say."

"So does that mean we're in it's s-stomach," Felicia squeaked.

"If that's the case there are two, tried and true ways out of here," Corrin said, ripping his cape off and throwing it to Lilith to use as a temporary shield from the acid. Kaze and Felicia both followed his lead and grabbed some clothes from the ground. "All we have to do is get there. Oh, speaking of which... RUN!"

The four bolted back the way they had came, none of them bothering to set fire to the oil. The acid would be more than enough to cover their tracks. As they ran the oil continued to drip. Faster. Faster. It just wouldn't stop. Eventually the group was less running and more hopping from dry patch to dry patch.

But they were almost back to the entrance. Just a few more turns and they would be back outside, safe from the overwhelming acid. Just a few more steps… and…

"What?!" Kaze gasped. "What sorcery is this? Did the dragon vein do this as well?!"

Where once had been the opening to the outside forest, the teeth like structures of the gate had closed. The gaping maw of Fort Dragonfall had shut. It was as if the fortress had truly swallowed its victims and now intended to digest them. Corrin and co stopped for a moment and just stared at it, horrified.

"What do we do now?" Felicia asked. Looking at Corrin for support, her eyes dashed back to the hallway as a Hoshidan spearman sprinted out of it.

"NO NO NOT LIKE THIS! NOT AFTER EVERYTHING ELSE, OH PLEASE GODS, NOT LIKE THIS!" the man screamed as he ran. Then he saw the Nohrian soldiers and for a moment, startled, lost his footing. Falling, he could only shriek in agony as tipped over into a puddle of acid.

Corrin and Kaze both sprinted towards the man, but by the time they got there it was far too late. Shaken and trying to hold back the urge to panic, Corrin forced himself to turn back to the matter at hand.

"Lilith, do you think you could teleport any of us out? I might be able to survive the acid in my dragon form if you could-"

She shook her head. "I'm still spent from that stunt we pulled with the pegasi. I'm sorry, but I don't think I could even get myself out at this point."

"What about blasting the teeth?" Kaze suggested with Corrin nodding in agreement. "Do you have enough energy for that?"

Lilith grimaced. "I can try, but no guarantees."

As she held up her hand, Corrin stepped in front of her. "Wait a minute! Let me try something first." Taking a deep breath and focusing as much as he could given the situation, Corrin summoned a fraction of the power he had learned from his past self. "Tarukaja."

The buffing spell took effect almost immediately, and Lilith's eyes widened as the magic coursed through her body, strengthening her to the levels almost unheard of. "C-Corrin?! What was that?"

Panting as the magic took its tole on him, Corrin forced an encouraging smile at the confused servant. "Not… Important… Right… Now…" Each word was a struggle, and to make matters worse, his dragonstone was ice cold for some reason. "Just… Blow up… The wall…"

As she raised her hand, Corrin thought he heard a familiar voice groaning. _Y-u dumba-s, Taruka-a doesn't b-ff magic. Only Makakaja -oes th-t."_

Paling even more, Corrin was about to shout for Lilith to stop when she let loose a colossal blast of Astral energy. The burst ripped through the stone, shattering it. Shrapnel and bits of bricks were scattered to the winds as dust from the explosion temporarily blinded them. When visibility did return, the group could see the darkness of night peering through the newly made hole in the wall.

"YES! Great job Lilith that was- that was- What?!" Corrin gaped at the hole. What was once a very clearly destroyed portion of the gate was rapidly regenerating. Before long the damage had been completely undone. It was impossible to tell if the hole had ever even existed.

"How?" Kaze asked to no one in particular.

"It must have regenerative capabilities," Lilith said with a scowl. "It makes sense I suppose. This was once a living organism after all."

"That's all well and good. But how do we get past? Lilith, I don't suppose you have enough energy for another blast?"

She shook her head. "Sorry Corrin. I feel as though I could lift a boulder, but my magic is spent."

 _We could try to use the boost from Tarukaja to punch our way out._ Corrin considered. But as he was about to suggest it, the area above the teeth seemed to open up, waves of the acidic liquid pouring down and blocking the path to freedom. "Damn it. Everyone, fall back!"

"To where?" Felicia asked.

"To- to-" _Where is right. Where is there left to run to? The gate is gone, and if that Hoshidan soldier was any indication, there is nowhere to go that way either. We need a way out. Now._

Through his thoughts, he heard Kaze speak. "If it closed the front gate, the other's are probably gone as well. We'll need a path that wasn't part of the original structure. Something unconnected to the original dragon."

 _Something unconnected? But those would be-_

"That won't work. Those will be sealed off as well." Lilith countered, despair starting to seap into her voice. "And besides, even if we did find a path and break into it, the dragon would just reseal the path!"

 _It'll just reseal the path… Hmm... Unless the hole was to big to repair. But that would require enough power to blast the entire fortress apart. None of us could-_ The image of the Demifiend battling Beelzebub flashed through his mind. _No. That's not true. I could do it… But-_

His other self's words came back to haunt him. " _Just for heaven's sake don't do something stupid like try and use Freikugel or any of the other higher level moves. I'm reasonably certain it would kill you."_

 _Well it's either death by acid or death by demon-ability. But if one of those options lets my friends live..._

"W-well we have to do something. We can't just sit here!" Felicia shouted, waving her dagger around. "There has to be something!"

"There is," Corrin said. "Everyone get behind me. Felicia, you have a medical staff on you, right?"

"Well, yes of course I do. We are in the middle of a combat mission after all."

Corrin nodded and tossed her his dragonstone. "Good. We're going to need it. Also, please hold onto this for me, the _moment_ after I'm done with this, I am going to _desperately_ need that back. Kaze-"

"Corrin, what are you planning?" the ninja said, interrupting. "What are you doing?"

The former prince shook his head and raised the Yato above his head. "Kaze there's no time to explain. Just be prepared to carry me out the moment after the wall explodes."

"Explodes?!" Kaze asked in shock.

"Yep. Now please, ladies and gentleman, the show is about to begin."

Corrin grimaced as he began to summon up his powers. It was almost terrifying how easily it came. It was natural as walking, or breathing even. Within a few seconds a small aura of fierce, amethyst energy had begun to surround the Yato…

" _WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"_

The tone of the question almost knocked him over. Corrin had been expecting his other self to show up, but not like this. The confusion and anger he had expected. But wrath? Indignation? If he wasn't fairly sure that the Demifiend was against suicide he would have been absolutely terrified. Instead of cowering he thought he'd try negotiating. " _Are you blind? We are out of options. If I stay here and do nothing we're all going to die! Is that what you want?"_

A growl reverberated throughout Corrin's mind. Slowly, with almost surgical precision, the voice inside him replied. " _Of course not, but please think about what you're doing. There is more at stake than you know."_

* * *

Another layer of purple energy congealed around the blade. Waves of pressure crashed into the three servants. Kaze looked back from the blade to Corrin and noticed that his liege's body had begun to tremble. The veins running up his neck were vercruse and pronounced. And… was his left eye golden?

* * *

Corrin grimaced as his body began to ache from the effort of charging the attack. " _Don't give me that crap! I don't give a damn about any of that right now! What matters now is getting everyone out alive."_ Emotions and power swirled like a vortex inside him, feeding off and into each other in a demented self perpetuating cycle. It turned his heartbeat himself to calm down Corrin struggled to keep breathing. " _So what would you do, punch through the walls? Call down fire from the skies? Sorry buddy, they'll heal faster than we can punch through. Any other bright ideas or are you just going to lecture me to death?"_

" _One actually; perhaps you ought escape through the Labyrinth of Amala."_

There was cracking sound from Corrin's left arm. Felicia cried out in alarm, but the former prince ignored her. The labyrinth? But that was firmly in the realm of demons. It was so far outside of his world that Corrin could barely even imagine it. Something that alien... " _But wouldn't that throw us into enemy territory? We could find ourselves up to our necks in enemy demons."_

" _Better that than in a pile of acid,"_ the voice answered impatiently. Unsurprisingly, he got the sense the Demifiend was getting more and more worked up. " _Or would you disagree?"_

For a moment, Corrin started to lower the energy he was funneling into the blade. They had been to Valla and come back unharmed. Would the labyrinth be so much worse? If they were careful they might make it through. Hell, maybe they'd even run into a friend. Corrin was about to end the attack when a sudden thought stopped him dead. " _Wait. Would it even be possible to teleport everyone? I've never even opened a portal for myself before, let alone all of us."_

Silence and… was that nervousness? For some reason that was even more terrifying than the rage. A soft reply slowly meandered in after the emotion. " _You would be fine."_

* * *

"STOP IT!" Lilith shouted, tears streaming down her face. "There has to be another way, please Corrin!" Helpless she gasped as another crack rang out across the foyer of the fortress. This time it was his right leg. It twisted under his weight as the bone shattered. By now only his right arm and left leg remained intact, and even those were trembling. Blood was flowing from his left eye.

Faint blue lines had started to crawl out from that very eye.

* * *

" _What do you mean by 'You would be fine'?!"_ Corrin fumed, oblivious to the changes befalling him. " _Did you intend for me to just teleport out and leave all of them behind?!"_

" _Corrin, this is bigger than them! Bigger than us! You think I want this?! I don't! I'm you! I-"_

Corrin shook his head in next part he said out loud. His voice was low, deadly, and every bit as authoritative as his counterpart's. "If you would leave them all to die... If you think giving up on them to save your own worthless hide is worth it… Then you are _not_ me."

"Corrin?" Lilith asked with a mix of confusion and desperation. "Your arms… your legs… gods, your eye…. please I'm begging you- stop!"

" _Calm down and try to think for a moment! If you die, there will be no one to save this world from the demons. Remember? Your mission? Your mother?! If you die here you're dooming the lives of every human on this plane. Which is more important? Three lives or over three million?"_

"I'll take my cake and eat it. I trust my friends to finish this. Even if I die in the process."

Rage cascaded over Corrin from his other self. The Demifiend's vehemence was like lava boiling him from the inside out. " _If you die, you doom not only this world, but every world that has ever existed!"_

The purple light solidified around the Yato. The Deadly Fury attack had finished charging.

" _YOU'LL HAND THEM THE MAGATAMA ON A SILVER PLATTER!"_

Corrin swung downwards.

" _YOU STUBBORN FOOL!_ "

* * *

In a cataclysmic thunderclap the attack activated. The initial shock wave cascaded into the assembled servants, knocking all but Kaze off their feet, with even the ninja barely able to retain his footing.

Struggling to see through the swirling dust, Kaze watched in shock and awe as the wave of energy moved through the building like a hurricane through a fleet of toy ships. Nothing survived. Rock melted and burned as it came into contact with the wave of amethyst power. The acid evaporated from the heat while the very ground trembled before curling upwards and rolling away in a shock wave from the point of impact. Rocks went flying through the hair faster than the eye could see and the entire wall of the fortress in front of them, along with about a huge swath of the forest behind it, simply ceased to exist. In a colossal final shockwave followed by a single, brilliant, flash, the beam finally dissipated leaving nothing but devastation in its wake. And as Kaze struggled to see as his eyes readjusted to the darkness of night, Corrin begin to teeter over.

"Kaze! Quick!" Felicia shouted, panicked.

Dashing forward, the ninja caught Corrin, gently supporting him by the shoulders. The prince felt frail. Even worse every ten seconds or so a minute spasm would rack his body. But as bad as his friend's condition was, dwelling on it in the present would have very severe consequences. "Felicia Lilith, the ceiling is coming down! We need to leave now!"

Not waiting to hear their ascent, Kaze took off at as a fast a pace as he could manage. Dashing towards the forest, it was almost more than Kaze could bare not stare at the shattered and charred remains of the surrounding stumps. Swirls of soft gray smoke still drifted from them, looking like phantoms slowing climbing into the cool night sky.

With fires behind them and the brilliant flash of Corrin's sword swing still fresh, the darkness seemed even worse by comparison. It would take some time before their night vision would return. As a ninja, the hindrance made Kaze feel naked. The sooner they got back to the safety of the woods the better.

"We'll grab Mozu and stabilize Corrin before heading back to that town a few miles back!" Kaze whispered hoarsely. "Hopefully there'll be a doctor there who can help treat him-"

"NO! I need to treat him now!" Felicia cut in. For once, the normally stumbling maid was calm and collected. Maybe it was the shock of what they had been through, or maybe it was the life of her master on the line. "If we try and move him that far, he could die!"

"That won't matter if whatever killed those Hoshidans comes back!" Kaze hissed. Every movement he made was tense. He was only half listening to Felicia's arguments. The majority of his attention remained fixed on the surrounding woods, trying to discern if they were truly alone.

"At least this way there's a chance that Corrin will live. Gods' sake Kaze, look at him!" Lilith countered desperately.

Kaze forced his breathing to slow. The very notion that he had almost let his fear overwhelm him filled him with shame. Slumping his back to slowly slide Corrin off, he couldn't help but cringe as he noticed just how sticky with blood the former-prince was. Felicia was right. He was in critical condition.

The maid sprang into action, first drawing her healing staff and doing a preliminary diagnosis of the injuries. Lilith used her powers to provide enough light to work with, but without the proper tools there was only so much that could be done. First the bleeding had to be stopped, then the wounds cleaned, then shut, then the bones set, the list went on and on. And without the proper disinfectants and surgical tools…

 _Boom._ A slow echo reverberated through the forest, coming from the direction of the shattered fortress. It was soft, almost like the distant beat of a drum, yet it wasn't just a sound, the ninja could feel it in his chest. It was almost like a heartbeat. Kaze looked toward the direction of the noise, two shuriken already drawn. He was about to suggest that they find somewhere to hide when another boom went off. From the same direction, but this one wa accompanied with a faint scream from what sounded like a man.

Lilith paled while Felicia sped up her work. They were only a hundred meters or so away from the fortress, if anything had shown up there…

"There!" Felicia finished, panting. "He's still bad, but we should be able to move him. That said if we want him to live he needs a REAL doctor, and soon!"

Kaze nodded, his eyes never wavering in their search of the surrounding forest. "Right. Quick, lift him onto my back."

"That's hardly the best way to carry someone so injured." Lilith protested weakly.

"We don't have time to make a stretcher." Kaze countered softly, "He's relatively stable now, and that's the best we can do. Now come on, we have to-"

"WhO iS thAt? SOmeOne sNeaKing ARoUNd?" the voice that spoke was gargled and foul, like what one would expect if a pile of refuse had come to life and decided to speak. "HEy gUys. I ThiNk i FoUNd iT. QUicK OVeR hERe!"

Without waiting a moment, Kaze slipped Corrin back off his back again and put him back against the trees. Looking towards the confused faces of his allies, he explained. "Take Corrin. Now. Make your way back to the camp and grab Mozu. Make your way to the village and sound the alarm."

"But what about-" Felicia began nervously.

"They know we're here. Someone needs to lead them away." Kaze handed his remaining supply of smoke bombs to Lilith. "I don't know how long I'll be able to buy you. If they find you, use these. They might be able to give you a couple more seconds."

The stable girl looked she wanted to say something but she hesitated for a moment too long, and in that moment, Kaze vanished into the forest, back towards the now decrepit fortress. Towards the sounds of whatever had caused those screams.

Biting her tongue in frustration, Lilith and Felicia grabbed Corrin's arms and legs and began to move him silently through the underbrush.

* * *

Kaze rolled to the side as the emerald monstrosities let loose another barrage of flame. How many were there now? Five? Ten? Twenty? They just kept coming. And worse- none of his attacks seemed to do any sort of noticeable damage.

 _It's just like with Ose,_ he thought with a few of the monsters had flown off in the direction he had come from. The best he could do was keep the rest from following their lead. _These monsters are demons- they have to be!_

"WHerE ARe tHeY?! WheRe MagAtAMA? YoU KnOW DEmiFienD?" the monster punctuated each attack with a burst of fire. They looked like congealed balls of green mist with a hideous face inside that screamed with each attack. "TEll uS! WHeRe HumAN!"

Kaze ducker underneath the fire and dropped a flashbang. _That name again. "Demifiend"... That's what Naga called Corrin… Does that mean they're after him?_ Kaze grimaced and drew the last of his fire bombs. By now the creatures were all around him, swirling and circling like a collection of lanterns blowing in wind. _Regardless, there doesn't seem to be a way out for me. I'm not sure if this will do anything, but if there's even the smallest possibility it will let them escape-_

A final boom exploded above Kaze's head. Looking up he saw a gateway of azure light open up. Brilliant and sharp, it was like a sapphire shining in the night sky. Kaze and the Spectres stood transfixed by the unearthly glow until three small points of darkness appeared on its surface. The spectres began to murmur restlessly as the shadows grew and swelled until they took the shape of three figures. One, the smallest by afar, no larger than than thirty centimeters and taking the form of a ball of light, immediately shot towards the direction his companions had come from while the others landed next to him.

The one closest to him was a large, hulking brute of a man. Kaze couldn't tell for sure in the low light, but he appeared to have blue skin and carried a fierce double sided sword. His clothing was white with a swirl insignia and… was that a hole through his head?!

The other figure was shorter than Kaze, in fact it looked almost like a miniature man. But it couldn't be, it was far too chubby. And by it's appearance it almost appeared to be made of black snow. Was it a walking snowman?

"Well. What do we have here?! A bunch of weak, filthy spectres intruding upon my walk! You know what Frosty? That pisses me the hell off!" the brute said, brandishing his sword. "And to think, we was just having a completely random walk. No prior plans or interior motives, whatsoever."

"HeeHo, it's _ulterior_ motive, you numbskull," the snowman replied, hopping up and down in frustration.

"YoU TWo- YOu'rE nOT SuppOSeD To bE HErE!" the spectres circled nervously around the two new demons. "WhY YOu hERe?!" Their lights flickered ever more frequently. With a tinge of horror Kaze realized that they were actually scared of the new arrivals. How was that even possible? Who were these monsters?!

With a snap of the smaller demons fingers gigantic spikes of ice sprung forth from the earth, piercing through half of the spectres. They were huge, each nearly ten meters tall. Cold air rushed past Kaze as the surviving spectres scattered in fear, but the snowman didn't seem to care. Instead it turned back towards the blue man and crossed its chubby little arms. "Now let's just finish these HeeHo-hooligans off before we get in too much trouble! The boss said-"

"I know what the boss said! You don't need to tell me twice! Quit your bitching! "

"You don't HeeHo-have Yuriko threatening to... to...-" The snowman shivered uncomfortably. "There are things that no demon should use a snake for. HeeHo."

"Right. Right. Your mistress is terrifying. Get off my back already Night-boy! And you!" The demon turned towards the speechless Kaze and pointed. "Get the hell out of our way! Managi may think you're worth a crap, but to me you're nothing but garbage! Got it? Now scram!"

Kaze opened and closed his mouth several times but no words came out. Seemingly defenseless and distracted, one of the remaining spectres took that moment to dive bomb him. Streaking towards him like a bat out of hell, the demon was almost right on top of Kaze when the the blue demon snatched it out of the air in a single, lightning fast motion.

The brute chuckled a bit as the spectre squirmed uselessly in its grip. It seemed to enjoy the act of crushing its spirit as it floundered about helplessly, letting loose smaller and smaller bursts of flame as it's will to fight faded. But the novelty quickly wore out and the soon the brute crushed the unfortunate demon to dust in its grasp. Turning back towards Kaze, the ninja couldn't help but stare at the hole that went through the blue demon's head. "Are you still here?"

"Uhh- yes?"

"Well move it!" The demon shouted, brandishing his weapon towards the spectres. "Or do you think you can fight these demons on yer own?"

"Well no-" Kaze began.

"Then get outa the bloody way!" The demon finished. "As I said before, Managi likes ya. If you die on my watch, Ongyo-ki will have my ass, and I am _far_ too important for that."

This was all too weird. Demons helping them? Now he had seen everything. "O-okay then. I-I- guess I'll go hide then?"

"WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE?!"

With that the ninja bolted back towards the fortress, the sounds of battle beginning to grow behind him as he sprinted.

* * *

"Come on Lilith just a little more!" Felicia begged. The spectres darted after them through the trees. The faint light they emitted playing off of their faces and causing the shadows to dance ominously. "We've only a little more until we're back at camp, and then Mozu can help us! You saw how good she was with a bow! I-I'm sure she can…"

"It's- It's too much Felicia," Lilith panted as the world around her faded in and out of focus. "The blast back at the Fortress… I used too much energy." Lilith stopped and lowered Corrin's legs. "You- you take Corrin. Make it back to the camp. With Mozu's help, get Corrin back to town. Find a doctor. Get him healthy."

"W-what about you?" Felicia gasped. "You can't just stay here. Those creatures will catch up to us any second now!"

Lilith continued to pant, but somehow she managed to force a smile through the fatigue. "Which is why you need to get Corrin to safety. I'll hold them off for as long as I can, but theres no reason for us both to die."

"But you just said you're too tired to go on!"

"If I let everything I have left all at once I may be able to take them with me. Besides they're demons. Your weapons won't do anything." Lilith replied, cutting her off. "Now go! Quick before-"

"ThERe tHeY ArE! gET ThEM!" Thirteen spectres burst out of the canopy above them, their spectral faces set into a collection of matching sneers. Their auras crackled and glowed with the color of green embers. It wouldn't be long until they began to attack them, and without Corrin to help and Lilith exhausted, there was little chance of survival, let alone victory. They were trapped.

"They find us…," Lilith finished in despair. "Well. I suppose this is it Felicia. It's... been an honor serving Lord Corrin by your side."

"S-same to you Lilith. I always kind of thought of you as a little sister," Felicia replied, near tears. "I wish I'd been able to say goodbye to Flora one last time."

Fire sputtered into existence at the Spectres' commands. A hundred hovering torches ready to incinerate the two women as well as Corrin. Slowly the flames grew from the size of a match light to the size of a torch, and then to the size of a campfire. As they grew larger and larger they began to vibrate, softly at first but it became more and more violent as time went on. And then, as the flames reached a fever pitch, they began to launch- only to be struck down from above.

Lightning rained down from on high, the light of which was so brilliant that the servants had to cover their bolts each the size of a carriage ripped into the spectres, popping them like little spiritual balloons. But that much energy couldn't be contained in such a week demon's body, and the bolts continued to descend, plummeting into the ground and sending shockwaves through the earth.

"W-what?!" Lilith stuttered, unable to believe her eyes. "How!?"

"Look out below!" a tiny yet exuberant voice came down from above, followed by a small ball of light. Within seconds it had closed the distance and stopped right above the ground. In a flash the light faded, revealing a perky, miniature woman with auburn hair, a blue leotard, and- were those dragonfly wings?!

Turning towards the group, the tiny demon put both hands on her hips and smiled a warm grin at the two servants, accenting the gesture with a well timed wink. "All right ladies, nice to finally meet you in person. I'm Pixie of the fairy tribe. My hobbies include drinking, making things go boom, and pulling Shin's arrogant ass out of the fire. Speaking of which, I have got a LOT of healing to do and not much time to do it in." Pixie cracked her fingers and smirked. "So, let's get started, shall we?"

* * *

 **Author's Note-**

 **Thank you very much for reading! If you have questions, critiques, or predictions, please leave a review and I'll do my best to get back to you!**

 **Demons Anarchy of Pride- Loki? Probably something completely innocuous... Yep. No schemes going on here. None.**

 **vampireharry the 2- Thanks, sorry for the delay. Hope you enjoyed!**

 **Disclaimer- This is a nonprofit, fan-based work. All characters and settings belong to their respective owners.**

 **Next Time- Deadly Fury Pt. 2 (obviously)**


	17. Chapter 16: Deadly Fury Pt 2

"P-Pixie?" Lilith asked. The night around them had gone silent once more. No longer were they surrounded by the myriad cries of spectres. No more fires threatening to reduce the trio of Nohrians to ashes. No enemies at all, really. The petite demoness standing in front of them had seen to that, calling down massive bolts of lightning from the sky to incinerate the offensive green monsters in a single strike. Now that they were gone, the night had descended to an unnatural silence. Lilith couldn't even hear the sounds of the myriad species of insects that made the forest their home. It was early, and for a place so big, it felt very small.

It was almost unbelievable. Even Lilith, who had lived through events most people thought only existed in legends was reeling from the sudden turn. Not only had they been assaulted by demons, but they had been saved by one? What was going on?

"Yep! It's nice to met ya! Hold on a sec, I'd love to talk to you both, but just let me give him a quick checkup," Pixie replied happily. The tiny, auburn-haired fairy had begun walking towards where Felicia had set Corrin down onto the ground. Taking care not to touch him, Pixie began to examine his wounds, nodding and muttering to herself as she did so. In the end she seemed satisfied. Sighing, she turned back to the two stunned servants and cocked her head to the side. "Wow. He actually tore himself apart. Just wow. I guess reincarnation really doesn't do much for your common sense, huh?"

The attempt at a joke didn't do much to lighten the mood. "Is-is he going to be all right?" Lilith asked with bated breath.

The small demon rolled her eyes. "Well duh! If he wasn't I would have gone nuclear on that metal faced, chicken winged, mother-" Pixie stopped mid sentence and looked off to the side. "Wait, you guys don't what nuclear means, do you?" The two servants shook their heads, prompting the fairy to pout. Turning back towards Corrin, the demon complained to herself as she summoned a soft, soothing light and began to work on the healing. "Crap! I'm going to have to go through all my rants and make sure they're all medieval friendly. Ugh, that's going to be such a pain."

"Wait! What about Kaze?! Is he all right?" Felicia asked, almost begging. "Please, if you're a demon, you've got to help him!"

"Why do you care about Corrin? Why are you helping us?!" Lilith blurted out, confused. This entire situation was bizarre and the stable girl had had just about enough of it. "Not that I don't appreciate what you're doing, but every time I've met a demon so far, they've tried to kill me. What makes you different?"

"First off, your friend was fine when I got here, a little banged up for sure, but definitely breathing. I left a couple of my subordinates behind to clean up, and I can personally guarantee that at least one of them is competent. So as long as Frosty can pick up Fuu-Ki's slack, he should be okay." Pixie seemed to take the questions in stride, barely even looking up from her work. "Two, how am I different? You mean besides my devilish good looks? Quite a lot actually. For one, we're from different tribes, what with Ose being Fallen and the Spectres Foul. Personally I'm from the Fairy tribe, which is of course the best tribe out of all of them. That also explains why I don't really feel the need to kill you. We fairies are more mischievous than murderous. As to why I'm helping you, Corrin is a very old and very, very close friend of mine. Nothing, and I mean _nothing_ , happens to him if I have a say about it."

"But then where were you when Ose-" Lilith began but was quickly interrupted by Pixie flying off the handle.

"THAT, oh ho ho, THAT was because a stupid, lame-brained, stick-up-his-but, high and mighty, doofus thought it would be a great idea to let the whole thing play out. Do you know how long I was trying to come and help you guys for? Do you? THE ENTIRE DAMN FIGHT! It took me that long just to break down Metatron's stupid barrier! By the time I got there all I could do was damage control and healing.(Kind of like what's happening now actually…)"

"Wait," Lilith said, finally putting the pieces together. She had thought the ball of light looked vaguely familiar. "After the battle, that orb of light that punched Azura… That was you, wasn't it?"

"Bingo," Pixie answered as she continued to heal the former- prince. The soft green light seemed to hum as flesh was reconnected and bones set all on their own. Already Corrin's breathing was starting to stabilize. "I was hoping you'd remember that, Lily. Do you mind if I call you Lily?"

Whatever Lilith had been expecting to hear from the demoness, that had not been it. And unfortunately, after a day filled with largely unwelcome surprises, she was not in any condition to hide her shock. "W-what? I- I guess not. But why?"

"Lily is a cute name. You're a cute girl. Makes sense to me," Pixie said with a smile which quickly faded into a scowl. "Besides, I already know someone named Lilith, and unlike her, I actually _like_ you. As far as I'm concerned, the less you share with that skanky succubus the better."

Neither of them knew how to react to that. So instead Felicia tried to change the subject. "U-uhm.. M-miss Pixie?"

"Yes. The woman in the maid outfit. Felicia I think?" Pixie made a sweeping gesture towards the maid, almost as if she were an academy professor calling on a particularly unlucky student. The demon even got the stuffy, uptight facial expression right. To her credit she held it for about ten seconds before breaking into a fit of giggles and returning to her examination of Corrin. "Word to the wise, you don't need to call me miss. Just Pixie is fine. Or Pix. Or the great, mighty, and magnanimous uber Pixie if you're feeling formal. Whatever you prefer, we're all friends here. Anyway, what's up?" Pixie looked back and forth between the bewildered faces of the servants. "Oh, come on! That last one was a joke!"

"S-sorry, I was just… You're really a demon?" Felicia replied despite a very red face. As she asked, Lilith noticed she was trembling. _I forgot, this is the first time Felicia has ever seen a demon. What must she be thinking right now?_

"Last time I checked, yes," Pixe answered. "But try not to worry, I'm not like those other losers. I've even got a lot of friends who are humans."

"O-oh. Okay." The flustered maid looked off to the side in embarrassment. "It's just- you don't really seem all that scary."

"Mhmm. I am pretty adorable, aren't I?" Pixie replied matter of factly.

"Uhh, yes actually…" Felicia trailed off before she sat up straight with a start. "Wait! How did you know my name?!"

"Uhhhh… Yaaaa about that…" Pixie smiled sheepishly while refusing to meet their gaze. "I _might_ have been watching over Shi- sorry _Corrin_ since he was in diapers. It was for his own protection of course. (And not at all because I was taking pictures to humiliate him with later on...) Unfortunately that also means that I've been watching the two of you for a while as well… Ya, sorry about that."

Her mouth went dry as Lilith realized just what that statement entailed. If that was true then it would mean… That would mean she _knew_."Y-you've been watching us our entire lives?!"

"No. I've been watching _you and Corrin_ for your entire lives," Pixie corrected. "I've only been watching Felicia since she moved into the Northern Fortress."

Lilith paled while Felicia cocked her head to the side in confusion. "Wait, you were watching Lilith too? Why would you want to do that?"

"Why indeed?" Pixie winked at Lilith. "Anyways. I'm almost done here." Looking down at her boss, Lilith was startled to find that Pixie was telling the truth. Where five minutes ago Corrin had been near death and only just hanging on, now it was almost as if it had never happened. Ignoring the broken armor and blood stains, he looked completely refreshed. Lilith and Felicia both let out a sigh of relief as Pixie continued, "Felicia, would you be a dear and bandage up his left eye?"

"Sure. I have some real bandages back at the campsite, but I can use some cloth for a temporary one now."

Lilith ripped off a small portion of from her apron and handed it to Felicia. As the maid worked, Lilith turned to the demon. "Is there something odd about his eye?"

"There's only so much I can do about the point where the Magatama were first introduced," Pixie said despondently. "No matter what I do his draconic side is going to be at war with his demonic. And considering that his left eye is where his demonic power originated… Well let's just say it's going to be a little tender for the next couple days."

Questions swarmed her mind but pragmatism won out in the end. "But is that it? That's the most he'll have to worry about? A tender eye for a few days? That doesn't sound too bad all things considered."

"Oh, well I mean he's going to be sore for a few days. Like _really_ sore. I doubt he'll be able to walk actually." Pixie flew off of Corrin's chest and landed on Lilith's shoulder, leaning up against the side of her head. "But all things considered, he's going to be juuust fine. But promise me one thing, 'kay, Lily?"

She didn't even need to think about her answer. "I guess that's fair. I mean, after all you've done…"

"Y-yes. Of course!" Felicia agreed enthusiastically. "Anything!

"If Corrin tries to pull another stunt like this, kick him below the belt. And don't hold back either; I want him in tears," Pixie deadpanned.

Shock exploded over both of their faces at Pixie's request, prompting her to hastily explain. "Hey, look, it's not that I like the prospect. (Though he _might_ deserve it a little.) But the fact remains that what he did today put a target on this entire dimension! It's like he lit a torch in the middle of the night. All the demons will flock to it like moths! If he did something like that again… well, it would be devastating." Pixie put her hands behind her head and looked away. It was the first time Lilith had even considered the fact that a demon could be nervous. "And that would be bad for everyone, Corrin included, and I can't very well have that happen. Based on what he said before he used the attack I'm guessing there was quite the internal battle going on."

"Internal battle…," Lilith muttered softly. _Does that mean he is degenerating after all? But the way Pixie's talking about it… She doesn't sound worried. If she's really his friend she would be just as terrified as I am._

Pixie shrugged nonchalantly. "I mean did you hear him talking? I've heard less introspection from a persona user for crying out loud! If I had to guess, some of his memories have begun to awaken. Probably happened during the Ose fight. Anyway, knowing Shin's pension for melodrama… Ya, can't say I'm really all that surprised by this."

A soft boom radiated out from the direction of the fort, prompting Pixie's head to shoot up towards the sky, as if she had heard something else, inaudible to the assembled humans. "Well crap. It looks like Mets decided to send someone after all. And by the looks of it, it's someone actually worth a damn." Flying off of Lilith's shoulder she floated up a few meters towards the tree line before stopping and turning back to the two servants. "This where I'm going to have to take my leave. It's not that I don't trust my allies but…" Pixie scratched the back of her head. "Ya I'd prefer this didn't turn into a bloodbath. It's been a blast meeting you both! Remember, if there's ever any trouble, I'll be watching over you. Oh and Lily…" Pixie smiled warmly at the stable girl one last time. "We'll speak again soon, promise. After all, and I'm sure that you'll agree, we have _a lot_ to talk about. See ya soon!"

Felicia stood up, nearly in a panic. "Wait! You can't just leave us! What if those monsters come back!"

"Oh don't worry. By now all of those pesky little bastards should be dead," Pixie said, smiling gently down at the two. "They aren't the ones to worry about anymore. Heck, it'll probably be better for you if I'm not here. Whatever angel they sent was probably deployed to retrieve me. I'm not technically supposed to be here…" Once again Pixie began to float up through the trees. "Just stay quiet and hide until morning. One way or another it'll be over by then."

"But- but…" Felicia stuttered uncontrollably as Pixie's head once again darted toward Fort Dragonfall.

"Sorry guys, but I really can't stay any longer." The miniature demoness gave the pair a mock salute before turning away for the last time. Her posture had changed in that moment. No longer jovial and carefree, there was a purpose in her movements. For the first time since meeting her, Lilith could sense the power behind that smile. Pixie had listed several differences between herself and Ose and the spectres, but she had not said just how much her power dwarfed theirs. But looking at her now, at this moment, it couldn't have been more obvious. Her power might have even rivaled that of Anankos. Taking only a brief moment to yell one last, "See you next time!" Pixie shot off into the cold Nohrian night sky. From the little they could see through the trees, she looked almost like a comet streaking through the inky black sky.

* * *

And so they made their way back to camp. Mozu had been quite shocked when they first arrived. Even more so when she had noticed Kaze was missing from their party. But the girl had managed to stay professional for the most part, refraining from asking what had happened or why Corrin was draped over Felicia's back. She had simply helped. After setting Corrin down and dousing the few remaining embers of flame, the three women decided to take Pixie's advice and wait out the rest of the night. It wasn't that the morning would bring light, they were in Nohr after all, but giving the battle between the demons ample time to finish could only be advantageous.

Three hours after Pixie's departure, the group received a terrifying reminder of why that was necessary when the sky lit up with a harsh, blinding came from the direction of Fort Dragonfall of course, and it was brighter than even the sun of Hoshido. Almost like millions of white fireworks all exploded at once, in a single flash. And in that flash, there was no shadow, no darkness, no shapes. The light consumed everything. And after it was gone, there was the roar of the explosion. A deep, unbound blast that threatened to tear their eardrums asunder.

But as quickly as it came it was gone. Though, it was quickly followed by the sound of rushing air as the atmosphere surged backwards toward the direction of the blast, no doubt attempting to fill the void created by the extremely powerful reaction. Looking around at her companions, Lilith wasn't surprised to see the horror and shock plastered across their faces. After all, she suspected the same emotions could be seen on her own face.

After that, the sky faded into silence for the most part. There was the off handed twig branch breaking or a cricket chirping, but these were the normal sounds of the night. Eventually the soft booms and crescendos of battle faded and died out completely as time continued its trek towards morning. When the wide-eyed Nohrian birds began to sing from the surrounding trees, there was no trace of demonic activity in the slightest. It was as if the monsters had never existed.

Standing up and looking around through the dried up and decrepit trees, Felicia and Mozu slowly but surely began to pack up their bags and belongings. There had been some whisperings during the night before about trying to go and search for Kaze once morning broke, but after that harsh light…

Lilith stayed by Corrin's side. Her powers were returning. Slowly of course, but after the exertion of battle that was hardly a surprise. It would be longer than she had previously predicted before she was able to teleport the group again.

She was so focused on guarding her liege that she almost missed the sound of Felicia gasping in shock and Mozu dropping the bags she had been carrying. Looking up in rush, Lilith's mouth fell to the ground at the sight that greeted her.

Out from the surrounding woods, clothes burnt and covered from head to toe in abrasions and bruises, was Kaze. His green hair, normally well kept, was matted and caked to his head with blood and sweat and by the looks of it he was almost about to collapse from exhaustion. He was alive though, and by the looks of it would make a full recovery.

But, Kaze wasn't what made Felicia cry out in shock. Nor was it what had rendered Lilith speechless. That distinction fell to what, or rather who, was slumped over the ninja's back, unconsciously being cared piggyback style by the ninja. Though both her white and gold dancer's garb and long blue hair were covered in dust, the woman was unmistakable. It had been someone Lilith had thought she would only ever see again on the battlefield.

It was the princess of Hoshido, Azura.

* * *

A truce is difficult at the best of times. It requires two ingredients which are often unfortunately sparse. The first is a suitable location. If it is too biased to one party over the other, it invites the possibility of treachery. And even if nothing came of it, the mere possibility of such a move would invite distrust and potentially preclude any meaningful dialogue from taking place.

Yes, the location was incredibly important. But where do you hold a parley when the beings you are treating with claim dominance over the entirety of existence? Where do you go when you must bargain with those whom serve the creator of all? Simply put, you make the best of it. In this case, the meeting was being held between the infinite expanse of the Amala multiverse and the myriad free worlds the Demifiend had ripped from Kagutsuchi over three millennia prior. Not perfect certainly, but it would at least offer the illusion of being beyond heaven's reach. Coupled with the free worlds being the neutral demon's stronghold, and it was as good as it was going to get.

The second ingredient was a mutual willingness to work together, otherwise known as 'that thing which almost never happens.' Never was this more true than when dealing with demons. After all, a human heart can grow and change. Life is fluid, even chaotic, and its slightest caress can bring about unfathomable change, be it good or evil. But, alas, a demon's heart is stone, unyielding, eternal. Even before the endless crashing waves of eternity, they remain perpetually uneroded.

So in spite of a history of conflict between the two, both sides had to put aside their own natures and interests in order to reach even the agreement to meet at all. It was nothing short of a miracle.

Unfortunately, it was also emblematic of the seriousness of the threat to which both sides were now faced.

To face that threat, four demons stood in the pitch-dark void that lies between the worlds. Three were of Aleph and the Demifiend's alliance while the other was an angel of the heavens. They stood juxtaposed to each other, waiting silently for the remaining participants to arrive. Neither side gave the other the pleasure of seeing them give an inch, merely glaring each other down. Even though they abstained from violence, the animosity was incredibly palpable.

Azure light exploded into existence ten meters away from the group as a portal to the labyrinth tore through the fabric of reality. The archangel Metatron turned towards the gate, his silver metallic face set into a perpetual frown. He did not have to wait long before the first travelers exited the portal. Like him, it was an angel, though where Metatron was clad in silver, gleaming, armor-like skin and a robe of beautiful white and gold, the newcomer was dark skinned and had wings the color of night. Black hair fell down from his shoulders and contrasted with the pure white robes he wore. Above his head rested a gleaming halo seemingly crafted from starlight.

In another flash of light, two more angels appeared at the newcomer's side, their crimson armor marking them as Powers. Metatron ignored the neutral demons as one of them let out an undignified snort. Annoying to be sure, disrespectful certainly, but it wasn't a mystery to see why she did it. The normally pristine armor of the Powers was cracked and scarred by elemental blast marks. One of their shields even looked like it had been punctured by a spear or first angel also looked shaken up, but to a far lesser extent. His robes were rusted and dirty and the expression on his face nothing less than furious. He took one glance at the assembled neutral demons and raised an eyebrow.

"What is this? You dare to look upon our glory without bending the knee? Even after we grace you with this concession, this breach of trust? I must say I am less than surprised."

" **Mastema, temperance,"** the silver archangel bade and though it looked physically painful for him, Mastema obeyed, resorting to glare daggers at the neutral demons.

Another flash and the portal closed, leaving three new demonic arrivals. One was a blue brute with a hole going through his face and a wicked double bladed sword at his side. Looking around quickly his eyes met with the crimson orbs of one of the first three neutral demons causing a brief wave of embarrassment to course across his features.

The other two new arrivals were a short, black snowman with a purple hat and jester's collar and a tiny auburn haired fairy sitting on top of the prior's hat. Unlike the angels, the final participants in the parly showed almost no signs of battle damage, save for a few slight burn marks on Fuu-Ki's robe. Both Black Frost and Pixie showed no signs of wear, a distinction Pixie was only too happy to rub in as she smirked at Mastema. "Ahhhh, did little chicken wings have to run back to mommy, Metatron? Poor widdle Mastema… Can't even retreat without getting your ass set on fire."

The angel she referred to didn't jump off the handle. Instead he just smiled icely at the petite demoness. "Speak all you like, I hardly expect civility from an insignificant little bug such as yourself. If you don't mind your tongue though, we might just have to find a way to remove it."

Pixie chose the most dignified of responses, sticking out her tongue and making a face in his general direction. As she did so, one of the original neutral demons, a beautiful woman in a bright green dress with long golden hair and long slender fairy wings spoke. "Metatron, I am disappointed. It's been less than a minute and your agent is already making threats. I expected better manners from those who proclaim to be the personal agents of the Great Will. How disappointing."

"It's simply what I've been trying to tell you for years Titania," another of the original three spoke up. This one was also similar to a human woman in appearance, but where Titania's beauty had been that of a sunset over the mountains, hers was the raw and uncensored flair of a succubus. Almost completely naked, her golden eyes and black hair was matched by the snake perpetually slithering over her shoulders. "Presumptuous and arrogant to a fault, this is waste of our time." She sighed in exasperation. "Let's just try to get this over with as quickly as possible. I have some urgent… _business_ to attend to."

"We all know what type of business you attend to, Yuriko, and I'm afraid it has no place here," Titania responded with a slight frown.

"Ya, some of us just ate," Pixie deadpanned.

" **Are you all quite done?"** Metatron asked. He was far from used to dealing with dissidence and his patience had reached its end. In addition, time spent here was time that the forces of Chaos could operate outside of his notice. And that was unacceptable. Perhaps they could feel the Voice of God's irritation for the collection of neutral demons fell silent. " **Mastema, an explanation."**

"Yes, milord," Mastema said with a courteous bow to his superior. Turning back to rest of the demons, he sneered as he began. "Six hours ago, there was a disturbance from the world that acts as the residence of the recently reincarnated Demifiend. Said disturbance was later identified as a slight resurgence in the Demifiend's power, used to allow the fiend, now named Corrin, to save the lives of himself and his companions." The angel began to pace back and forth as he spoke, looking all the more like a lawyer strolling leisurely in front of the judge. "As a result of this grievous misuse of power, a group of nearly sixty spectres were attracted to the Demifiend's power, no doubt attempting to retrieve the magatama for their master. As was our duty, I lead two Powers in a successful battle against the demons-"

"Bullshit," Fuu-ki snarled in disgust. Staring down the angel, he continued, "By the time you asshats showed up, we had finished off all a the spectres."  
Black Frost jumped up and down in accent, prompting Pixie to hang onto his hat for dear life. "Hee Ho! That's right! All of the spectres were already eliminated by the time they showed up Ho. When they did HeeHo arrive, they started to attack us!"

"As well we should!" Mastema spoke with a self righteous glare. "I am sure you and yours remember the deal made over eighteen years ago. In exchange for our assistance in protecting and hiding the reincarnated fiend, any and all of his former allies were banned from making contact with him!"

"To be fair, Corrin was completely unconscious while we were there," Pixie retorted.

Mastema swirled back towards the fairy at that, his eyes carrying the fierce glow of a predator that had cornered its prey. "OH? And what of the time when you healed him while he was a dragon? How can you not understand that your presence alone acts like a beacon to the forces of chaos? If you wish for the fallen angel to know where the Magatama lie then by all means continue to visit your pet. But if you want the plan _your_ master himself came up with, then perhaps you ought follow the rules."

"You want to talk about the plan?!" Pixie shouted furiously, flying off of Black Frost's hat and getting right in Mastema's face. "Well fine by me you sorry, weak, overly-pious piece of trash. I'm sorry to break this to you, but it kind of fails if Corrin dies!"

"And you have yet to explain why you intruded upon Hoshido's soil," Mastema said slowly and methodically, refusing to give any ground.

"Oh bite me. If you're going to ignore everything I say, why should I even bother talking to you." Pixie flew back to Black Frost before looking around sheepishly for a second. "But to answer your ehh 'question' ya... _technically_ he was going berserk so I'm not quite sure that counts as 'conscious' either."

"So you entered Hoshido to help calm the savage beast?" Mastema clarified, his singsong voice impossible to pin down.

Pixie cocked her head to the side before answering warily. "Well… ya duh. Why else would I be there?"

The black winged angel smirked. "Oh? Why indeed? And here I thought it was the instinctual reaction of a jealous demon attempting to stop a princess from coming between her and her best friend."

"THAT'S IT BLOWING YOU UP!" Pixie exploded, white light emanating from her fists.

Titania sighed in exasperation. She was used to Pixie's 'outbursts' by now but they never did fail to come at the worst possible moment. In the past they had been tempered by Shin's more methodical nature, but now… With a snap of her fingers the queen of the fairies let out a Glacial Blast, freezing Pixie up to her neck in ice and stopping her more 'fervent' attempts at an argument. "Frosty, be a dear and catch her would you?"

"HeeHo of course your highness!" Black Frost caught the miniature fairy out of the air and summoned a petite flame to begin melting the ice. Pixie's expression shifted from outraged to mildly irritated. She glanced over at Titania as if to ask 'Aww, why did you have to do that?' Titania merely smiled and shrugged at her subject.

"Ahh, do you have to unfreeze her immediately?" Yuriko asked slyly. "Three thousand years and this first time I think she's truly cooled down."

Pixie glared at Yuriko. "Haha very funny. Why don't you go hang yourself with that snake of yours."

The succubus rolled her eyes. "Never heard _that_ one before…"

"I AM IN AN ICE CUBE. I'M SORRY IF MY CURRENT QUIPS ARE SUBPAR!"

"If you're all quite done, might we get back to the topic at hand?" Mastema asked. After the assembled demons quieted down again, he continued. "And in regards to your previous point of Managi dieing… Irrelevant. If the Demifiend should perish we will simply secure the Magatama and bring them to a safe and _hidden_ location." By the way he said it, it was obvious that Mastema would have preferred to have simply taken that route to begin with.

"And just how do you suppose you would do that?" The soft voice of the final neutral demon rang out. Clad entirely in black, the only color that he wore were the twin crimson orbs of his eyes and the faint metallic sheen of his wicked twin bladed staff. "You failed to defeat three demons who happened to be passing through the area at the time. You think you could have defeated a coordinated attack single handedly?" The blade twirled in a wide circle, its path blurring in such a way that it looked for a moment like the moon hovering silently in the void. "If there is one thing I despise more than pure weakness, it is weakness clumsily trying to masquerade as strength."

"You dare to threaten me in the presence of Lord Metatron?!" Mastema gasped. "Why with a single blast from his hand he could-"

"Pixie dear, I might be mistaken but you and Shin did manage to best _Lord_ Metatron in single combat, did you not?" Titania interrupted suddenly. Though she wore a warm smile on her face, it did not reach all the way to her eyes, which remained cold as the ice she often used to smite her enemies.

"That we did." Pixie agreed with a smirk. "And that was just the two of us. I'd _love_ to see what we could do with three tribal leaders and two of their lieutenants as well."

A flash of light, a thunderous boom, and finally silence as Metatron glowered at the assembled demons. Could they not understand the weight of the current situation? " **Enough. Your transgressions may be admissible, but if you seek violence here, we shall eradicate the Demifiend's world and be done with it."** The archangel turned back to his slightly overzealous subordinate. " **Mastema your report is finished. See to it that you watch your tongue for the remainder of these negotiations. If you cannot do that much there will be severe repercussions."**

Mastema bowed his head in respect. "But of course, Lord Metatron."

Pixie rolled her eyes, Yuriko snorted, and Titania glared at both of them for it. Choking back the urge to reprimand her allies, the queen of the fairies spoke to the Voice of God. "Thank you, Lord Metatron. Now that we have established what occurred, I believe you wish to go over some of the more fine details?"

" **Yes. This meeting was called to determine whether our tenuous alliance is still viable. Though he spoke out of turn, Mastema has made an unfortunate point. Pixie, Black Frost, and Fuu-Ki intentionally violated the terms of our agreement by trespassing into Nohr. I am afraid if they are found guilty, either they will have to be punished or our agreement terminated."**

"Oh?" The crimson eyed demon asked, once more raising his weapon. "And just how do you intend to accomplish that?"

" **Your bravado is irrelevant, Ongyo-Ki. Heaven cares not for the opinion of the Brute tribe. It does however, care about the punishment for dissent."**

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Fuu-ki interrupted. Both of his hands were raised in an attempt to calm down both Metatron and his master. "We weren't in Nohr on purpose! We were just… going for a walk."

"Yeesssss." Pixie added, trying very, very hard to hold back a laugh. "We were just out for a midnight stroll and happened to wander into the wrong world."

Black Frost was rapidly nodding in agreement."Hee-Happens to us all every once in while-Ho."

"Pretty sure I was drunk," Pixie added.

"Heh, heh, me too," Fuu-ki agreed.

Silence. Dead silence. Mastema looked like a cat that had a mouse by the tail. Yuriko's eye was twitching as she choked the air with her right hand. Ongyo-Ki could've been about to hit someone and Titania looked like she wished very much so that she were anywhere else than here.

"You honestly expect us to believe that you just accidentally wandered into the world where the Demifiend was just coincidentally being attacked by demons?" Mastema asked incredulously. "The very notion is-"

" **I ordered you to remain silent, Mastema. Do not try my patience again."** Metatron glared down at Pixie and each of her partners in turn. Was that really the best story they could come up with?It would be inconvenient to be forced to kill them, but he did need a halfway reasonable excuse if he was to spare them. " **What is your point?"**  
"My point is that we didn't do nothing intentionally." Fuu-Ki crossed his arms defiantly.

"Technically that would mean we're exempt from punishment," Pixie added, winking at Mastema. "I mean you Lawful Losers are all familiar with the concept of reading the fine print aren't you?"

Ongyo-Ki laughed a deep, booming laugh. "Well well, it would appear we have quite the conundrum, by the sound of it. I'm no lawyer but it seems you don't have any reason to be here after all. Unless of course you're looking for a fight…"

Metatron looked around at the assembled demons. It would be so easy to wipe them out. A single word and this area would be flooded with angels. The hammer of heaven would be brought down and not even the Demifiend himself would be able to do anything about it. But that was the point after all. And though he hated to admit it, there was some value to Pixie's actions.

The plan could still yet succeed.

" **Mastema, from this moment forward the word 'intentionally' is to be purged from our agreement with the so called neutral demons. This time though… their transgressions shall be forgiven. Am I understood?"**

"Of course milord." Mastema agreed reluctantly. It would eat at him of course, but he knew better than to disobey. It was their way after all. Metatron nodded and a portal back to their seat of power opened behind him. Mastema and the powers entered solemnly while the Voice of God looked back upon the assembled demons. With an air of absolute authority he made his proclamation.

" **From henceforth, any demonic or human ally of the Demifiend's found in the same dimension as Corrin shall be executed and cast down into the depths of hell. Be it** _ **intentional**_ **or not. If for any reason he ceases to be Corrin and reverts to Shin Managi, like our agreement, this threat is void. You have been forewarned."**

And with that he vanished, leaving the six neutrally aligned demons all alone. For a moment they were all as still as statues, shocked that they had gotten off scot-free. Eventually though, the silence was shattered by Ongyo-Ki slapping Fuu-Ki upside the back of the head. "Really?! You were on a _walk_?! That was the best excuse you could think of?!"

""I'm sorry boss, I didn't have much time ta think!" Fuu-Ki answered sheepishly. Titania facepalmed while Pixie broke out into hysterics.

"Honestly, I'm surprised he managed to come up with anything at all. Brutes having to solve problems with their brains? Might as well kill me now," Yuriko muttered as the mother of succubi grabbed Black Frost by the collar and started to drag the unfortunate snowman towards a newly formed portal.

"B-but mistress, I did what you Hee-Ho asked me too!" Black Frost whimpered as he struggled in vain against Yuriko's grip.

"YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO GET CAUGHT YOU STUPID EXCUSE FOR A SNOW CONE!" Yuriko shouted as the portal to the Night tribe's homeland began to close around them.

Black Frost squirmed and squealed helplessly against his boss's grip. "Hee-Ho-Help me!"

Pixie gave him a sympathetic smile as the portal finished closing. Being on Yuriko's bad side was a pain to be sure. But being under her thumb? Ugh, Black Frost would be sore for weeks.

"We ought be leaving as well." Ongyo-Ki said, addressing Titania. " _Apparently_ my student requires additional training in stealth. Such an embarrassment."

"Boss, really I'm sorry-" Fuu-Ki began apologetically.

But the head of the brute tribe was having none of it. "Move your ass! I won't be satisfied until you prove you can follow simple instructions. You know, like: 'Don't get caught by angels on your secret mission'. Crap like that. Later Titania. Give my regards to Oberon."

"Naturally. Take care now." Titania waved goodbye to the brute chief as the two returned to their home, leaving only her and the recently thawed out Pixie. "Now, what am I going to do with you…"

Pixie crossed her arms and pouted, hovering silently in the void a meter away from Titania. She looked all the part of a child caught in wrongdoing. "I'm not apologizing."

"Oh come now, don't be unreasonable," Titania chastised gently. "I don't mind that you saved Shin, but did you really have to beat up Mastema? You know how prideful the angels are."

"He attacked first!" Pixie grumbled. "Besides, he was going to exterminate the witnesses. We can't have that! Kaze and Lilith are the only reason Corrin hasn't killed himself yet."

Titania couldn't very well argue with that. For some reason, be it fate or just ill luck, Corrin still had his… 'eccentricities' when it came to strategy that he had developed over the course of his tenure as the Demifiend. Unfortunately now he lacked both the strength and experience to back that up. That fiasco with the pegasi back on the fields of Hoshido had been enough to almost give her and her husband a heart attack back in Anlita. "Speaking of them, am I correct in assuming that all of Corrin's friends made it out alive?"

"Yep. And Kaze even managed to drag Azura out of the wreckage of the Fort." The way Pixie said the princess's name made it seem like she was spitting out poison. Titania couldn't help but smile. Pixie had always been somewhat 'overprotective' when it came to Shin and it seemed that wasn't about to stop anytime soon.

"That's good," Titania began slowly, wondering how much she would be able to get away with, "I would hate to think that poor girl would be left all alone in that terrible place. And I bet Corrin will be happy to see her again as well. They were getting along so well in Hoshido…"

This prompted another eye rolling session as Pixie responded. "Aww your highness, perhaps you should start a career as a comedian! I mean you are just SO funny!"

Chuckling, the queen patted Pixie affectionately on the head. "Come now, you know sarcasm doesn't become you. Though I do find it a bit odd. You get so worked up about Azura but have absolutely no qualms about Lilith in the slightest. If I didn't know better I'd say you're actually fond of the girl. What was it you said? 'We'll speak again soon' I believe."

"Try and tell me you don't find her adorable." Pixie argued, smiling as she did. "And besides she's Shin's sister! By all accounts we are already best friends. She just doesn't know it yet. Man, can you imagine all the stories we're going to get to share. Oh it's going to be perfect…"

"And you're sure the fact that they're being unable to date because they're siblings doesn't factor in at all?" Titania acted innocently.

"Nope. Not all. Not a bit. I don't think that would ever affect anything- okay maybe a little." The tiny fairy smiled sheepishly and rubbed her head in embarrassment. "But you have to admit she has been through a lot. Especially for a non-demon."

Titania nodded sadly. As Shin's new sister they had watched the girl's life as well from the safe confines of Anlita. It had not been a happy story. "You are certainly correct in that assessment. My, that girl could really use a hug."

"Exactly. So as soon as Shin blunders into another dimension again, because you _know_ it's going to happen, I'll zip right in and comfort her." Pixie put her hands on her hips, looking every bit like a valiant little super hero off to save some unfortunate victim.

"And if Azura or Felicia or Mozu should happen to be there as well?" Titania asked with a mischievous half-smile.

"I will not do anything permanent."

"Ooh how ominous." The queen of the fairies chuckled. Raising a hand she called forth a portal that would take the pair back home to Anlita. "Now come. I'm sure Oberon is simply dying to hear about how you almost started a war with the angels."

* * *

 **Author's Note-**

 **Thank you very much for reading! If you have questions, critiques, or predictions, please leave a review and I'll do my best to get back to you!**

 **Chin- Nyx is... well it was hinted at near the end of chapter 14. We will get more info on that later on though.**

 **Gold- Thank you so much! That means the world! As to Azura's retainers... ;)**

 **Mirage- Thank you! I hope this satisfied you!  
**

 **Disclaimer- This is a nonprofit, fan-based work. All characters and settings belong to their respective owners.**

 **Next Time- Interlude 1.**


	18. Interlude 1: A Very P3 Christmas

December 25th, 2009 Iwatodai City;

At six AM the alarm clock started blaring bloody murder. Half a second later, two separate energy blasts ripped it apart for what must have been the hundredth time.

"Ughhhhhh. Why did I do this to myself…" Shin groaned as he forced himself to roll out of bed. Stumbling over to the dresser, he pulled out the crumpled remains of his school uniform and began to get dressed. After casting a small bufu spell on himself to wake up, he opened up the fridge. "Hey, Pix. Do you remember if we finished off the rest of the OJ from the other day?"

The only answer he received was a loud, over exaggerated snore. Rolling his eyes, he opened a small portal to his quarters in Anlita and grabbed a spare bottle. Finishing his morning routines, the Demifiend grabbed his bag and headed for the door. "Just remember to meet me at the mall after school today. We have to help Minato avoid his exes. That too much to ask Sleepyhead?"

The ensuing lightning blast crackled through the air but dissipated the moment it touched Shin's skin. Chuckling to himself, he closed the door softly behind him and set off for the train station.

Thirty minutes and one obnoxiously boring train ride later and Shin found himself walking through the gates to Gekkoukan High School. It wasn't a bad school, all things considered. Just a little too fancy for his tastes.

"Yo Shin, my man! What's up?"

Shin closed his eyes in irritation before turning towards the sound of the voice. It was whom he expected of course. There were only a few people stupid enough to refer to him in such a manner and the baseball capped bumbo was unfortunately one of them. "Junpei," he began softly, "I have told you no less than twenty times not to refer to me in such an informal manner." He smiled evilly at his classmate. "If you do so again I'm afraid you might not live to regret it."

A teenager with a baseball cap smirked back at the young fiend as he walked towards him. "Heh, fat chance man. Try that and you'll be biting off a little more than you can chew." Junpei punctuated the claim with a confident smile, prompting Shin to internally groan. How was it that he still didn't realize he knew about the persona? For crying out loud, even Ken had his suspicions about him at this point and he was what? Twelve?

The Demifiend shook his head in exasperation. "Whatever you say. Nice to see you Minato." Shin turned to the blue haired man standing to Junpei's side. He was about the same height but carried an excessively bored expression. His blue hair was long for a boys, but not excessively so, only reaching down to his chin. It did cover one his eyes however. How he managed to fight with that handicap, Shin would never understand.

"Likewise." Minato's response was curt, cutting through the surrounding noise with an unusual level of confidence. It was one of the things Shin had found oddly likeable about the human.

"Hey! Don't just ignore me here!" Junpei grumbled.

Shin sighed. "Honestly, I would if I could. Anyway, Minato, late night? It's been awhile since I saw bags under your eyes." The Demifiend's eyes glittered mischievously. "Not doing anything too dangerous I hope. Though knowing you… it's probably a girl, am I right?"

Minato groaned as Junpei pounced on him, demanding details. Of course there were none to give, but like Junpei, Shin was quite familiar with Minato's, ehh let's call them conquests. In reality, the real reason he was tired was less sexually deviant and more because he had been training at Tartarus in secret. Perfectly responsible. Respectable even. However, it seemed that after three thousand years, Pixie had begun to rub off on him. Afterall, it would be fun to watch his friend squirm.

"Well, I'll just leave you two with that. Later Minato." Shin said waving. Turning to leave, he paused for a moment to continue. "You still need my help for tonight. Right?"

"Yes." Minato replied, ignoring the looks of suspicion Junpei were shooting in their direction.

"And if I do this, you'll keep your end of the bargain?"

Minato put his hands in his pockets and nodded.

Shin sighed and continued on his way to class. "Fine, I suppose I owe you that much. Anyways, see you later I guess."

* * *

Shin's eyes quickly scanned the contents of the report. _Hmm. Another incursion into Snake territory. No need to worry too much though as it's only the Wilder tribe. Though this is the fifth time this year… Now that I think about it, I'll order Yuriko to begin gathering intelligence on the matter. Meanwhile let's move the Brutes into position by the main gateway to World 326. This should ensure the Wilders will cut too close to Heaven's territory when they're forced to retreat. We'll let Metatron clean up this particular mess, thus eliminating the problem. And if the angels happen to suffer a few losses, well that's a bonus._

"Managi, are you listening to me?!"

The disguised Demifiend looked up from his phone to meet the irritated stare of his teacher. "Of course Ms. Toriumi. Though I'm afraid I was zoning out for a-"

"I know you were looking at your phone Managi." His teacher deadpanned.

 _Well isn't that irritating._ "Uhhh ya, sorry about that." Shin replied sheepishly, ignoring the giggles and snorts coming from his fellow students. "What was it you wanted me to do?"

Ms. Toriumi rolled her eyes and pointed to the door. Following her hand, Shin was surprised to see a familiar, blonde woman in a suit standing in the doorway. "Your cousin is here to dismiss you for religious reasons. Next time just tell me earlier in the week and not show up for the day in question. Maybe then you won't disrupt class."

"Sorry, will do." Shin replied, grabbing his stuff and heading for the door. As he went Minato raised an eyebrow as if to ask 'should I be worried.' Shaking his head slightly to put his mind at ease, Shin followed the woman into the hallway.

As soon as they were out of earshot from the room, Hiroko smiled and gave him an affectionate hug. "It's been a while Shin, how are you? Enjoying your time at school?"

Shin smiled at his long time friend. "I've been fine, thanks. I've got to say, I'm a little surprised to see you here." His smile faded. "There hasn't been an emergency has there?"

"No. Everything's been quiet since Bel was broken." Hiroko conceded, putting his worries to rest. "But I'll let Aleph fill you in on that."

"Oh? He's here as well? Can't say I'm really surprised as you two are practically conjoined at the hip." Shin said as the pair exited the building. Though there was no snow on the ground, the air was quite frigid. Not that either of the two were bothered much by that. Shin was completely immune to temperature thanks to Masakados and Hiroko's magic likewise negated the discomfort. As the two got onto the train they made casual small talk. Basic things really, how friends were doing, what demons they'd killed recently, a particularly bad dinner Pixie had bought at a fair. You know, normal stuff.

Eventually they made their way up the steps that lead to a small shrine and park. Sitting on a bench in the same clothes he had once worn as Hijiri, sat one of the strongest humans ever born. Getting up nonchalantly, he raised a hand in greeting. "Well, if it isn't the man of the hour. Long time no see Shin." He said with a smirk.

"Ah Oedipus. Great to see you as well." The Demifiend responded.

"Ignoring that." Aleph groaned, while Hiroko glared daggers at Shin's back.

Shin smiled. "Sorry, old habits die hard. Anyways, what brings you guys this far out of the way? I haven't seen you since we smashed Bel last year."

Aleph nodded solemnly. "That's actually why we're here."

"We're worried about you Shin." Hiroko added. "You left almost as soon as the battle was over and you barely said anything."

"Wow, you guys sure don't waste any time." Shin commented dryly. "Couldn't wait five minutes before getting down to business?"

"You and Pixie disappeared as soon as we were sure that we won." Aleph contered. "And to make matters worse, you've cut yourself off from all methods of communication."  
"Not true." Shin argued gently. "I've been in constant contact with my generals for military purposes. Also I definitely remember sending Hiroko a birthday card a few months ago."

"And we're both _very_ grateful for that." Hiroko responded dryly. "But our point still stands. Something is clearly wrong, and we're not leaving until we find out what."

"Oh?" The Demifiend looked back from one to the other, surprised to find that they were actually quite serious. At that point he realized that he could continue to play the semantics game, but after knowing them for a couple of millennia, he knew that would be a waste of his time. Sighing in resignation, Shin forced a smile. "It's nothing too serious. Just a slight midlife crisis. That's all."

Aleph snorted. "You? Come on." His smile froze when Shin didn't crack a joke or interrupt him. "Oh crap. You're serious."

Shin shrugged. "Fraid so." He looked past his friends and toward the shrine. "It's actually been like this for a little while now."

"So what's the issue?" Hiroko pried gently. "Looking back, even when we were all assembling to fight Bel you were a little off. I asked Pixie about it, but she made some excuse and flew off."

"Ehh, how do I put it?" Shin trailed off, trying to gather the correct words to describe what he was feeling. "I guess it all started back when Dante passed away." The Demifiend turned around and glanced at the surrounding area, casting a small makajam spell on the surrounding area so they would not be overheard. "You remember that, right?"

Aleph nodded. "That was when Hiroko and I were in the Schwarzwelt. We sent for reinforcements when we realized what we were dealing with."

"Right. We were outnumbered and losing men rapidly." Hiroko added with a wince. "If memory serves, you and Pixie were elsewise occupied so you sent Dante in your place. Everything was going well until…"

"Until the Demiurge got involved." Shin finished. "The largest and most powerful fragment of -_-_. Normally it wouldn't have been too much an issue for you two, what with you crushing the complete package in the past, but there was also a simultaneous attack from another group of humans. Combine that with Mastema and the rest of the angels doing their damn hardest to hide the Demiurge's presence… Well by the time you realized what had happened, Dante had been ambushed and completely obliterated."

Shin trailed off. The memory of the snarky, red cloaked demon killer was still fresh in his mind. Even now it was hard to come to terms with him being gone. He had deserved better after everything he had done. Hopefully he was in a better place, be it afterlife or reincarnation. Shaking his head, he forced himself to continue. "Fortunately, he held that monster back long enough for you two to arrive and kill it. But it still makes you think. We are going to die. We are _not_ immortal. Though you, Hiroko, and myself all have some form of eternal youth, it isn't the same as what the demons have. Face it, even though he died for it, the Demiurge _will_ reform. It's inevitable. Even Bel might come back someday. Hell I've already heard reports from Yuriko that Jezebel and Belberith are active again."

"One, we only managed to beat -_-_ the first time because Satan blasted him with the Megido Arc right before the fight." Aleph responded, his eyes dark with the memory of the encounter. "Demiurge was still almost able to kill us. Two, what's your point? If I didn't know better, I'd have thought you were almost envious of the demons."

Shin turned back toward the voice, his expression like stone. "Not envious, merely being pragmatic. From a strategic viewpoint, we are forever at a disadvantage. We can die and they can't? How can we possibly fight that?! Just from a probability standpoint, eventually we'll lose. Why hasn't it happened it yet? A mixture of luck and absurdly potent superpowers. That's it. But even the ability to destroy an entire dimension has its limits." Realizing that his emotions were getting a bit out of control, he forced himself to calm down, rubbing his temples as he did so. "What I'm trying to say is that Dante's death wasn't an outlier. It was an inevitability."

Pity. That's what stared back at him from Hiroko's face. "Nothing lasts forever Shin."

"That's a lie. Both Law and Chaos have their champions that have existed since time immemorial." Shin countered. "All we have is a couple of humans, Pixie, and a cat. Wait! Let me do the headcount for you. There's you, Aleph, me, Pixie, Raidou, Raidou's cat, Flynn, and little ragtag team has one thing in common- there was a time before us, and there will be a time after us."

"But think about what we've done!" Shin continued. "We've prolonged the apocalypse from happening no less than fifty times. We established a sanctuary for demons and humans alike whose worlds have been destroyed. We've even carved out a swathe of world's outside of Kagutsuchi's grasp and then managed to keep it that way. No matter how you put it, we have left a mark on the Amala multiverse. There are people out there depending on us."

"There will always be someone to take up our mantle. Already we've seen others who are capable of rising to the call." Aleph said. "Flynn and Isabeau are actually with Hotsuin and Hibiki as we speak."

The Demifiend smiled. "And now we get to the crux of the issue. To what do we trust our fate too? An endless dynasty of humans taking up arms one after another for the rest of existence? Not the worst idea, but there's always the possibility they just won't be good enough, that they'll fail or give in, or even betray the trust put in them. We could do that, or… do we set up a safeguard?"

Hiroko paled and Aleph's eyes narrowed. "You can't be serious."

Shin shrugged. "I don't know. I told you I was at a bit of a crossroads here. I'm not really sure what to think. There's a reason Masakados never gets involved in our business. He knows, and I agree, that humanity should be allowed to fend for itself. But still… well you know how close I came to going down that particular path."

"So is that what this is about? You're trying to find out which is stronger, humanity or demons?"

"Oh no, demons are clearly stronger." Shin deadpanned. "They are actually immortal. Can't do much to stop that." He paused. "But there is a difference between strength and power, at least in this context. What I'm trying to discover is whether or not humanity needs help or can stand on its own. Just how powerful is the human heart?"

"And that's why you came to Philemon's playground." Aleph cut in, finally understanding. "What better place to examine the power of the heart than in the world that literally saw the birth of the persona power."

"Well ya, I guess." Shin admitted. "When you put it like that it kind of sounds silly."

"You're a silly guy Shin, you just have to come to terms with it." A small voice squeaked from on high. None of the assembled trio needed to look up to know who it was.

Pixie grinned and sat down on Shin's head. Feigning surprise, she turned toward Aleph. "Well, well, well, if it isn't the original motherfu-"

"Shin already beat you to the punch." Hiroko interrupted, rolling her eyes in annoyance.

"Damn it! Shin you meanie, it was my turn to make the joke this time around!" Pixie accentuated her point by playfully whacking the Demifiend on the head a few times.

"You have it coordinated?" Aleph asked in dismay.

"Well duh." Pixie said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I mean, we are talking about Shin here. The man has all his meals planned out for the next month and a half. AND HE DOESN'T EVEN NEED TO EAT."

"Yes, well you don't _need_ to sit around our apartment all day and play videogames, yet you do." Shin countered. "I just like to stay organized."

"And somehow I manage to love you anyway." Pixie said in a sing-song like voice. Sitting back on his shoulder, she pretended to pout again. "But really Shin? How could you not tell me that Aleph and Hiroko were in town? And here I thought all we were going to do today is help Minato dodge karmic justice… If I knew we were going to meet up with them I would have actually gotten out of bed this morning."

"Fat chance of that." Shin scoffed.

Hiroko frowned. "Minato? You mean that blue haired kid in your class?"

Shin looked warily at Hiroko. "Yes… That's right. But how do _you_ know that?"

She shrugged. "We did some digging on your classmates before picking you up."

"How deep did you dig?" Shin asked, careful to suppress any incriminating emotions. _How much did they find out? Was it recent events or just the class roster? DAMN. Were there any security cameras in the hot springs a few weeks back?! No, that would be extremely creepy. Thank goodness._

"Deep enough to know your ice immunity might need some work." Aleph's smile was more a sneer than anything else. He was obviously enjoying his revenge for the Oedipus comment.

Dismay and embarrassment washed over Shin's features. "One- not my fault. Mitsuro basically has ice-pierce. By the time I knew what was happening I was frozen solid. Two- How?!"

"We rented a room at the hotel. We were going to try and talk to you there but…" Aleph trailed off as he looked to his partner expectantly.

The blonde woman took the cue and smiled evilly at the Demifiend. "But, I thought it would be a nice night for a bath, but what do I find? A front row seat for you little perverts getting what was coming to you. Shame on you Shin, I expect better from you."

Shin's groan was matched only by Pixie's howling laughter. "Honestly, you and your illusion magic. Wait… YOU'RE THE REASON I COULDN'T WARP OUT! YOU BASTARD!"

"Hmph." Hiroko scoffed. "Count yourself lucky I didn't join in."

"I couldn't sit right for a week…" Shin mumbled unhappily. "Well whatever, guess there's no use making such a big deal about it now." _However, come April fool's day, I will have my revenge._ "Hey Pix, what time is it?"

"A little past three. If we're going to save Minato from his bad decisions we had best get moving." Pixie looked at their two friends. "You two are going to help too, right?"

"Do you really think we should?" Aleph asked hesitantly. "I mean, this is hardly our business."

"That might actually help." Shin admitted. "No one here knows you. That gives me a tactical edge. Not that I need it of course, but still."

"Ehh… the scoreboard _does_ currently read Girls 1, Demifiend 0."

Chuckling Shin shook his head, knocking Pixie off. "You forget my sassy friend. This round, I had prep time."

"Maybe a better question is why should we help." Hiroko asked.

"Because you guys love me." Pixie answered immediately.

"Because it's Christmas." Shin said with a smile. "And everyone knows Christmas is a time where friends and family all come together from around the world- and help other friends get away with serial philandering."

The Demifiend paused for a moment. "I'll also buy you dinner."

* * *

Minato Arisato.

Like the Demifiend he had only joined the ranks of Gekkoukan high this school year. Additionally, he had also been forced into a supernatural battle to decide the fate of mankind with powers he hadn't asked for. Now he was leading a coalition of like-minded individuals against a force that they had absolutely no business fighting. Not only had it been entertaining to watch, it had been nostalgic. More than a couple times Shin had seen himself in the boy. Not that his intentions were completely wholesome. At the beginning Minato has been hopelessly awkward, which or course had lead to plenty of _interesting_ situations. There had even been a few instances that had left Pixie in hysterics and Shin choking on his popcorn. It had been that funny.

However, it was there that the similarities died. Where Shin had done his best to stay under the radar at Gekkoukan and even during his original journey way back in the Vortex World, Minato had done the opposite. Seemingly in open defiance of his more laid back nature, Arisato had done almost everything in his power to make a difference. Whether that be helping out a kindly old couple at a bookstore or keeping company with a peer that had an incurable disease, he had clearly touched the lives of many. And that was saying nothing of his achievements at school. Top of his class, very popular, and undeniably charismatic, Minato was truly an extraordinary individual.

Shin was a man who would fight for his beliefs. He would kill for those he counted as his subordinates and destroy worlds for his friends. But to everyone else? He really couldn't be bothered. His actions ensured they had the freedom to seek their own destiny. If they were too weak of mind or body to seek it, then they were worthless in his eyes.

Minato was different. He did care for the strangers. Maybe it was because he was so quiet, but he had always been an excellent listener. If someone was depressed or needed advice he would be there, always. It was something the Demifiend had never quite been able to understand.

He was also a serial philanderer.

It wasn't _completely_ his fault. The power of the wildcard was fueled by the connections between its wielder and those around him. These connections were known as Social Links. This meant that by developing friendships Minato's personas and overall combat ability were increased. Considering that the world was at the edge of calamity, it could be argued that Minato was merely being responsible, even taking one for the team as it were. However, it could also be said that he had shamelessly manipulated four different women at his school in a selfish quest for power. See, he had come to the conclusion that in order to max his social links with members of the opposite sex, he had to well, 'spend a long time alone' with them.

Normally this would have been fine. Except he had more than one social link with his female classmates. So he had done the obvious thing and started dating all of them. At once. Without telling any of them.

Smart.

Hell, that wasn't even the worst part. Shin knew for a fact that the only woman that Minato actually had a romantic interest in wasn't even part of that group. She wasn't even human! Instead she was a homunculus that served as an attendant in the velvet room, a kind of hub that served to distribute and manage the Persona power by Philemon's command..

The blue haired young man had only discovered his blunder recently when he had accidently maxed the empress social link with Mitsuru by helping play matchmaker for her and Akihiko. The look on his face had been priceless.

Now it was a month later, and Minato was beginning to have trouble with his previous flames. In addition he had been cornered by the aforementioned attendant and asked to take her on a date to the real world for the Christmas holiday.

Why would Elizabeth do something like this when, like Shin, she knew about all his girl-troubles? Simply put, she was an even bigger troll than Pixie.

And that was why Shin, Pixie, Aleph, and Hiroko were in the mall on Christmas day. Because though Minato was a philanderer, he was a smart philanderer. He knew better than to try and go through with his date without an eye in the sky.

* * *

Shin knocked on the door to the security office, checking his watch as he did. _Alright, Pixie and the rest should be in position by now. Perfect._

It was annoying. Usually he would just warp around the world with reckless abandon, having his servants cast dormina with impunity. It was quick, harmless, non permanent, and most importantly easy. That would have been the plan, however he hadn't had fun for over three months! He was bored. He needed a chance to stretch his mind and his legs. So when the chance to handicap himself for this little project had come up, he had jumped at the opportunity. He also had a running bet with Philemon to see just how much he could get away with without resorting to his powers.

The door opened as a security guard in his mid thirties looked down at the fiend suspiciously. "Um, something I can do for you kid?"

Shin looked up from his watch, his mind already on the next phase of the plan. "Hmm? Oh right, Lilim, now would be fine."

"What are you-" The man began before slumping over as the sleep spell hit him.

Grabbing the man by the collar Shin dragged him back into the security office. "Thanks Lilim, be sure to give my regards to your mother."

An ebon haired succubus shimmered into existence above the door, bat-like wings beating silently. "My pleasure Demifiend." She looked hungrily at the unconscious guard. "Though are you sure I can't-"

Shin shook his head. "Not even a sip."

Lilim pouted. "Figures. I'll make sure to give your message to mom."

After the Night demon had left Shin locked the security door behind him and sat down in front of the monitors. A quick scan told him that not only had Minato and Elizabeth still not left the Velvet room, but that they were also still in the clear in regards to unwanted guests.

Turning on his bluetooth headset, Shin smiled. "Alright, testing, testing, one, two, three. Can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear." Aleph's voice came through the microphone.

"No problems here." Hiroko added shortly after.

"Speak for yourself, I'm sitting on a Christmas tree." Pixie grumbled. "All set here too by the way."

"Excellent." Shin grinned. Cracking his fingers he began to work. "Alright, Aleph. I need you to stay in the arcade and keep watch from there for about fifteen minutes. After that begin making rounds between there and the karaoke bar."

"Roger."

"Hiroko, you stay in Chagall Cafe. Based on where you're sitting you should have an excellent vantage point of the first floor."

"Understood, though don't expect me to get up after my tea gets here."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Shin responded, turning to the camera feed of the top of the christmas tree where Pixie was hiding. "Pix, as usual you're my ace. Stay in position for now, but should things get out of hand…"

"Mhmm. No need to explain, I've got you covered."

A flash of movement down a hallway drew Shin's eyes to one of the upper monitors. "Minato and Elizabeth just left the Velvet room, standby. Minato if you can hear me, scratch your head If you can't, well I guess I'm free to grab some popcorn."

The blue-haired young man scratched his head on the monitor, prompting Shin to nod in satisfaction. _Alright, so they'll head to the club first before tea at the cafe and then wandering around a bit. After that, they're on their own._

"Shin, we've got movement on the bottom level." Hiroko's voice came in. "A girl matching the dossier you gave me is walking up toward the karaoke bar now."

 _Crap._ Looking at the monitor Shin found Yuko and a few of her friends from the Kendo team walking and joking together. She had been one of the first Minato had dated and was particularly strong willed. A confrontation would be ill advised. Time to stall. "Minato, kiss the girl. Pixie, let's speed this along. Aleph, we're moving up the schedule a bit, begin moving towards the bar now."

"Right." Pixie and Aleph agreed while Minato did his best to stall.

* * *

"Hmm, Minato, is something wrong?" Elizabeth inquired. Her date had stopped following her seemingly out of the blue.

"What?" Minato answered, lowering his hand from the earpiece suddenly. "No, it's nothing. Nothing at all. I guess just a little nervous."

The attendant leaned in close to him. "Is this the legendary pre-date jitters I have heard about?"

"Perhaps it is." Minato answered slowly. "Care to help with that?"

"Are you serious? _That's_ the best you can do?!" Shin's annoyed voice came through over the radio. "I've seen better romance from the Brute tribe. Better subtlety too. Honestly how the hell are we even in this mess..."

But Elizabeth seemed to find the comment amusing. Giggling she replied. "Oh my, how bold. Not that I'm surprised of course. Now how would I go about doing such a thing?"

Minato smile and leaned forward.

* * *

Shooting out of the tree, Pixie flew low and fast toward the group of highschoolers. From her perch atop the christmas tree she dove down towards the floor, pulling up at the last possible instant. It was true that they couldn't see her thanks to a minor illusion spell, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to have fun with this.

In moments she was right behind the group. Corkscrewing, the fairy let out a small bufu spell as she passed underneath the students. . It wasn't a strong ice spell, just enough to send a momentary gust of cold air at the group. The result was as expected.

"UGH What the heck? Why is it so cold?"

"Quick, Yuko, let's get to the karaoke place already!"

Pixie grinned from behind the banister. If this was the most today was going to throw at them then this might actually be boring.

* * *

Nodding in satisfaction as the group hurried into the bar to get out of the cold air, Shin returned to surveillance. _Alright, one down, three to go. Hopefully they don't all show up._

Glancing back at the camera outside the Velvet room entrance he was less than surprised to see that Minato and Elizabeth were still kissing. Shin rolled his eyes. "My goodness. See, this is why I hate teenagers." He muttered to himself as he opened the radio link to Minato once again. _You know it's kind of funny how much he's changed from the shy kid I met all those months ago. Now where was I?_ "Alright Romeo, save it for when I'm not on the clock. You're all clear."

Minato broke contact and the pair began to walk to the club, making small talk as they went. The moment after they entered the building, the radio pinged.

"Shin, we've got a problem." Aleph said. His voice was an unusual cross between stressed and amused. "It looks like a two of his classmates. I think they're looking for the kid."

 _What?!_ Shin thought as he flicked through the camera feeds. When he found what Aleph was referring to he groaned. "Motherfu-"

"HEY!"

"Oh lighten up, I wasn't talking about you. Anyways, that's Junpei and Kenji. They're going to be an issue." The Demifiend drummed his fingers on the arm to his chair. Options, options, what was he going to do? If it was just Junpei he could just freeze him, thaw him out later, and blame it on the shadows. But Kenji was normal. He couldn't do that to a civilian. Well… not without killing him anyways. No, this would take a more creative approach. "Hmm, they are teenage boys… Hiroko-"

"Nope. Make Aleph do it. Not only am I not wasting tea, I am definitely not about to seduce young boys."

"Ugh, fine. _Aleph_ you should be able to buy some drinks at the convenience store on the first floor. I suggest you 'accidentally' bump into them after buying some soda. Or tomato juice. Ya, lets go with that."

"No time. Don't worry I've got this."

"Sure, whatever. Good luck." The Demifiend rubbed his temples. "Alright, now that that's over with-"

"Uh, Shin…" Pixie's voice was a strange mix of concerned and trying not laugh.

"Oh what now? Ah. Shit."

Yukari and Fuuka had arrived at the mall. The Demifiend looked between the monitors desperately. This was bad. Not only was Aleph already occupied with Junpei and Kenji, but Pixie couldn't help in this situation. Persona users could and would see through Pixie's illusion spell. Even worse, those two had _met_ Pixie before during the battle at the love hotel a few months back. They would recognize her in an instant. "Hiroko I would really love it if-"

"Are you kidding? This just got interesting!" The blonde warrior casually took a sip of tea and winked at the camera. "Consider this payback for the hot springs fiasco. After this we're even."

Out of options the Demifiend threw open the security door and sprinted down the stairs to where the two persona users were.

* * *

"Hey Fuuka, do you really think he might be here?" Yukari asked, looking around the mall. It was busier than usual due to the holiday and she was worried they might not be able to find Minato even if he was here.

The honor student nodded, her light green hair bouncing slightly as she did so. "Oh yes. Juno was sure. He is around here somewhere." Her voice carried the slightest edge of concern to it as she answered.

"Hmm." Yukari muttered softly, oblivious to Fuuka's feelings. "Now, if I were him, where would I-"

"Hey! Yukari, Fuuka! Fancy meeting you here."

The pair turned to see a familiar face coming towards them and froze upon recognizing it. "Managi." Fuuka said in surprise. Though she tried her very best, it was impossible to keep the fear out of her voice. "W-what are you doing here?"

Her voice was shrill and border line panicked and Yukari couldn't blame her. After all, she had been there that night at the love hotel. The image of the terrifying blue-tattooed titan was still etched into her mind. Yukari shivered.

"Ahh, come on. Is that anyway to greet a friend?" Shin replied smiling. If he had noticed their discomfort he didn't care. "I got out of church early and thought the mall would be a fun place to hang."

"Church?" Fuuka asked, confused.

"He was dismissed early." Yukari explained, still a little rattled. _Why am I so frightened? Mitsuru executed him just like the others a month ago…_ "Hey you haven't happened to see Minato around here, have you?"

Shin scratched his head. "I did, but he already left. Said something about going down to the shrine and park. I would have gone with him, but I had just gotten my tea at Chagall."

"Hey Yukari, didn't know you'd be here!"

Looking towards the direction the voice had come from, Yukari was dismayed to find Junpei, Kenji, and wait who was that? "Stupei?! What are you doing here?" She sized up the stranger who appeared to be in his early twenties. He wasn't bad looking per say, but his sense of style was a bit off and his hair was a little too long. There was no doubt he was in shape though. "And who's your friend?"

Junpei smirked. "This is my man Aleph. He's a journalist from out of town. He wanted to do an interview with Kenji and I on Gekkoukan."

"Aleph huh?" Shin commented. For some reason or other he seemed to be annoyed. "Odd name."

Aleph chuckled sheepishly. "You think? Well, the orphanage I grew up in had a couple weird traditions."

"Oh, you lost your parents?" Yukari asked. "I'm so sorry."

"Thanks. But it's ancient history." Aleph said, smiling. He took out a notebook and pen from his bag. "Now, from the looks of it, you all go to the same school as Junpei and Kenji, right? I'd love to get your thoughts as well."

"Wouldn't it be better to ask Mitsuru for that?" Fuuka asked weakly.

"Oh you mean the young heiress? No, I'd like to get an average student's account." Aleph replied happily. "Of course I'll talk to the faculty later on, but I don't think the young Kirijo would be as good a choice as she literally owns the school."

"Makes sense I guess." Yukari admitted.

Junpei's eyes lit up. "Hey! I know, let's all go over to the club and celebrate. After all, Shin's christian right?"

"Uhh, let's not go making too many assumptions here." Shin said slowly. "Besides, why would we want to go to the club? There's a great Karaoke place over there."

"Nah, that place isn't much fun at this time of day."

"Yet an empty club is your idea of a good time." Yukari deadpanned.

"Hardly." Junpei leaned in close and whispered in her ear. "But some kid at the arcade saw our Minato go in there. With a girl too! Some white haired chick in blue."

Muscles seized up. Anger flared. The urge to punch Junpei became almost overwhelming.

The Demifiend's eyes narrowed. Energy gathered at his fingertips as he prepared a summoning spell. He would have to use his power after all. A pity. He'd have to pay Philemon after- What was Pixie doing?

Oh no.

* * *

Yukari froze. A mixture of disbelief, anger, and betrayal began to seep through her being. Slowly, she began to walk towards the club door.

"Yukari! Wait!" Was that Shin's voice? She couldn't tell anymore. Didn't care. All that mattered was finding Minato. If he _was_ cheating on her, then she'd-

* * *

 _Damn! I'm not going to reach them in time!_ Space began to warp and tear as the Demifiend willed a portal through the labyrinth to open and encompass his being.

"WATCH OUT!"

* * *

Yukari was thrown from her thoughts as Shin grabbed her and Fuuka and jumped out of the way. For a moment the world around them flashed a myriad of colors and it felt like the worlds was pressing in on her from all sides. Energy crackled and hummed. But what worried her more than anything was the soul rending cry she heard from her persona Isis.

But almost as quickly as it began it ended and she found herself falling.

They landed on top of their classmate.

"Are you two alright?" Shin asked. Somehow he was completely unfazed by the two of them sprawled haphazardly on top of them.

"I-I think so." Yukari answered, still confused by the experience. By the looks of it Fuuka was in similar straights. Looking around she was shocked to find they were over ten meters from where they had been. _Did Shin jump all the way over here?!_ She thought in disbelief. _That's not possible._ "What happened, I don't-" Then she saw it.

Somehow the six meter tall Christmas tree in the center of the mall had fractured clear through the base and come crashing down towards the exact spot where the group had been standing mere moments before. If Shin hadn't moved them when he did, they would have definitely been hit. True, their persona abilities would have probably saved them, but still…

Kenji was not so lucky. Not only did ne not have a persona, but he had also tripped in the commotion. Thankfully he only took a branch to the leg and not somewhere critical like the neck or back.

"Ah, ah, ah!" He panted, trying to talk through what must have been some pretty intense pain. And that leg… Yukari felt queasy just looking at it. Was it even possible for legs to move that way? "I think my leg's broken."

"One moment." Aleph said before throwing the tree off of Kenji. Yukari's jaw dropped. The man had brushed aside the huge pine as if it were nothing more than a twig! He took a glance at the leg, being careful not to touch. "This is pretty bad. It shouldn't be permanent, but you need to get to a doctor quickly." He stood up. "Girls, would you and Junpei mind taking Kenji to the hospital? I'm going to go find the mall management and see if I can get to the bottom of this."

"O-okay." Fuuka stuttered. "What about Managi?"

"I'll go grab the janitors. They'll want to clean this up ASAP." Shin said frowning. "This is ridiculous. We could have been killed." For some reason he seemed to glare up towards the second layer of the mall as he spoke.

"Alright, well. I guess we'll see you later then." Yukari replied. After saying their goodbyes, the group departed.

"Sounds like a plan." Shin said in agreement, before mouthing a small healing spell under his breath.

Yukari's eyes widened as she saw Kenji's leg heal. Not enough to fix the break, but enough so that he wouldn't ever have a problem running or walking after it healed. Seeing her reaction, Shin winked and ran off towards the Janitor's room.

At the time she thought nothing of it. After seeing him wipe out a hallway of shadows with a mere flick of his hand the fact that he could heal Kenji was not a surprise. Just an anomaly being fickle. Maybe he felt bad about Kenji getting hurt on Christmas.

Hours later she would remember what Shin had said about Minato being at the shrine though. That was in direct conflict with what Junpei had said about him being in the club.. Normally she wouldn't pay it any mind, but that tree had fallen in quite the suspicious way.

After all, the tree had only fallen _after_ she had begun to walk towards the club…

* * *

"I can't believe you dropped a tree on them." Minato said with a chuckle.

Shin grimaced. "Pix got a little overzealous. Though, to her credit they were about five seconds from catching the two of you. Besides, it's not like a falling tree would have been able to hurt any of you."

"Except for Kenji." Minato corrected.

"Right. Except for the human with no magic powers."

"He's a good kid." Minato said, thinking carefully. He would have to put this the right way if he was going to get his point across. "So's Junpei you know. A good person I mean. You really ought treat him better."

The Demifiend scoffed. "You mean when he's not being obnoxious and weak? Sorry I was a bit too preoccupied to notice."

He shook his head. "You're wrong. Junpei's been through more than you know."

"Oh please, spare me. Is this about that pink haired girl?" The Demifiend was nearing the end of his patience. "Boo hoo, she betrayed him. Welcome to the real world. All your bonds that you hold so dear crumble under the slightest of loads. Even love breaks and buckles given enough weight. The sooner you realize that the sooner you can move on with your life."

"Maybe. But I doubt it. Even a crumbling bridge can be repaired if given enough care." Minato countered. "Junpei's mom is dead, his dad's an alcoholic, and school really isn't his thing. Yet despite all that he was still able to reach out to a depressed girl who needed a friend. If that's not strength I don't know what it is."

"How about delusion?" Shin deadpanned. "After all, if memory serves she tried to kill you all. For all your talk of love, she still betrayed you when given the chance."

"She died to save Junpei's life. If that bond was as weak as you say that would have been impossible." Minato's voice was calm but hard. He would not budge on this, not something this important, not when he knew Shin needed to understand it.

"Irrelevant. You've seen it yourself. As soon as Ryoji told you the truth about Nyx everyone except for you lost the will to fight." Anger had started to creep into Shin's voice. "Where were your bonds then?"

"They'll come around. I know it."

"You'd trust them so completely? Pathetic. You're as weak as they are."

Minato laughed. "Perhaps I am."

The half-fiend looked at him as a jeweler appraising a mysterious necklace found at the beach. At first glance it was probably junk, but there was always the possibility of something more, however unlikely. "You really do trust them. Don't you?"

Minato nodded and looked off the side of the pier where he had met up with the Demifiend. The night air was cool and crisp, with the golden specks of light from the surrounding city painting the whole scene like a giant Christmas ornament. "Thank you again for doing this. It was nice to have an afternoon alone with Liz."

"I'm glad to help. But you know as well as I that I hardly did this out of the good in my heart."

The persona user nodded. "A deal's a deal. December thirtieth works for you, right?"

Shin shrugged. "It does. But you know, I _was_ half-kidding. You don't actually have to go through with this. If you do. I won't hold back. It would be useless if I did. There's the very real possibility you might die."

"Memento Mori." Minato said nonchalantly. "You've helped me for the greater part of a year. It's about time I payed you back. I said I'd fight you if you helped me out today, so I intend to do just that. I've come too far to back down now." He smiled at his friend. "Besides, maybe I'll finally be able to prove to you that you're wrong about bonds."

"I doubt that very much."

"I wield the wild card. My bonds are my power." Minato replied. "And when you lose to me, you will lose to them as well."

The Demifiend grunted and turned away, fading into the encroaching shadows. Just as Minato was sure that he had disappeared completely into the concrete jungle, his voice wafted back, still as quiet as whisper. "I hope your blade is as sharp as your bravado, child. If it is, then perhaps you are ready to face me. But still, I doubt it. Until then, wielder of the wild card."

* * *

"So that's it?" Aleph asked. "Something so simple?"

"I'm a simple man." Shin retorted. "It is how I usually operate after all. No need to fix what isn't broken."

"Well whatever. Just be careful." Aleph and Hiroko waved goodbye as they stepped through the portal into the labyrinth between worlds. "I hope you find what you're looking for Shin. Really, I do."

The portal closed and once more the cool night air was silent. Standing alone with Pixie, Shin looked up at the dark sky. "I hope I do too."

* * *

Memories swirled and faded, tossed and turned, shifting between dream and nothingness. Corrin hung between the consciousness and unconsciousness, recovered from his wounds but too tired to do anything but sleep. There would be a time for waking soon enough, but for now, the part of him that was still Shin Managi was content to wait, and to remember friends long gone.

* * *

 **Author's Note-**

 **Thank you very much for reading! If you have questions, critiques, or predictions, please leave a review and I'll do my best to get back to you!**

 **So this was our first interlude! Sorry if it wasn't quite what you were expecting. I did try not to go too overboard with the filler. (Though, there was some stuff with Minato and Shin which will come up again later.) But for the most part this was supposed to be a break from the darker tone of the last couple chapters. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed it. Sorry I didn't get this out in time for Christmas. Hope you all had a happy holidays!**

 **vampireharry the 2- Thank you! I'm glad you liked it!**

 **Mirage- Thanks! Pixie's a tad territorial... You really can't blame her too much for it. Don't worry we'll be getting some more interactions pretty soon!**

 **Disclaimer- This is a nonprofit, fan-based work. All characters and settings belong to their respective owners.**

 **Next Time- The Slaughter at Dragonfall.**


	19. Chapter 17: Record of Dragonfall

Back and forth.

Again and again he paced. There wasn't any rhyme or reason to the motion. Only the nervous impatience of a man who was in desperate need of an intelligence update.

Iago was not in a good mood. He was about as far from a good mood as he imagined was possible. It had been three days since he first received news of the incident at Fort Dragonfall, and even now he knew precious little about what had happened. Well, minus one thing of course.

 _A Pixie was there._ Iago thought bitterly. And not just any Pixie, but the right hand of the Demifiend himself. The very same Pixie that helped bring down Shijima the first time. _Why here? Why now?_

"Reporting in, my lord Iago."

The speaker had the shape of a young woman and wore a dress of grey. In addition, she wore a stiffer skirt around her legs, similar in concept to the carapace of an insect. Her blonde curls were kept neatly tied in buns with some being diverted from the rest to form a crown of braids. Green highlights accentuated the locks on either sides of her face, giving her a surreal appearance.

"Clotho. I hope for both our sakes that you have something of merit to report."

"Indeed I do." Clotho replied. Her voice was aristocratic in all ways, yet never as haughty as her sisters'. Hers was more of a youthful arrogance. "We have finished analyzing the remains of the wreckage."

"And?"

"There can be no mistake. The building was destroyed by an ability known as 'Deadly Fury'. It is an ability only one is known to possess."

"The Demifiend." It was a name Iago had only heard about from his teacher. The half fiend had been described to him as a harbinger of death. As a figure that would be able to annihilate their plans single handedly if he caught wind of them. He was a ghost story of sorts, one that he had assumed that he would never have had to actually face. That he was here now… "And why would such a being be here, dare I ask?"

The demoness sighed. "That is still unknown. What we do know is that a group of humans were here when the skill was used." Clotho looked around at the surrounding wreckage and visibly winced. "Or perhaps unleashed would be more accurate. Anyways, if those humans were to be _located,_ they might be able to help us fill in the blanks."

"Really?" Iago's mouth curled into a sickening smile reminiscent of a hyena that just cornered its lunch. "In that case, summon Ose. Tell him I have some prey for him to hunt down."

* * *

"Why excuse me sir. I do believe you dropped this."

"Hmm?" Kaze turned towards the sound of the voice to find a well-dressed man offering him a small object. "Uh, thank you." He looked down at the item to find a small cylinder with indecipherable markings. "I think you've made a mistake. This isn't mi-"

But the man had already put some distance between the two. Turning back with a smile, he said, "Look here, Mr. Hoshidan, I'd love to stand around and help but- oh! There's my date now!" The man pointedly ignored Kaze's objections, instead making his way toward a sorceress with snow-white hair standing outside the entrance to the local inn. Leaning back the man smiled warmly. "How about you just hold onto that? Or find it's real owner yourself, why don't you? It's your choice."

"W-what, but I-"

"Kaze, what are you waiting for?" Lilith retreated from the food stall she had been scoping out and shot the ninja an annoyed glance. "We're on a bit of a tight schedule here."

"One moment Lilith, I just need to-" The ninja turned just in time to see the door to the inn close behind the nobleman and his date. For better or worse, he probably wouldn't be able to return the cylinder anymore.

"My apologies." Kaze answered hastily, pocketing the small artifact. Perhaps he could pawn it later on. Gods knew they could use the money after all. Living out of this town for a week had liberated them of most of their money due to the need for food and medical supplies.

Lilith sighed. "It's fine. Let's just keep moving. I want to get to the apothecary before lunch. We're almost out of salves and Felicia needs some more herbs for Corrin's painkillers."

Kaze winced. "Corrin's not going to like that. Last time it took both Mozu and I to hold him down so that Felicia could dope him."

"Ya, well he doesn't get a choice." Lilith replied, her hand curling into a fist. Corrin had not been an easy patient to deal with and it was beginning to grate on her. "Until he gets better, Felicia makes the final call on medical matters. And its doctor's orders that Corrin needs his sleep. Until he can sleep without them, he's just going to have to deal with it."

After hitting the apothecary, the pair began the trek back home in silence. Spider-like trees cast shadows in the dim Nohrian afternoon light. Even after a lifetime of living and working in the dark of night, Kaze still found himself squinting in the weird hybrid of dusk and shadow.

All around them dim lights flickered from the surrounding township. It wasn't a large settlement by any means but Kaze would have hesitated to call it small as well. There were the normal buildings of course; the inn was some ways back and the church to the Dusk Dragon was up further. But there were also a few luxury locations. There was a barracks and military recruiting center on the top of a nearby hill and near the church was a small schoolhouse for the local children. And finally there was a small café for the more affluent citizens.

In fact, that café was currently directly to their right. Like usual, it was almost completely empty, save only for the owner. Kaze had done his homework and knew that the regulars would be busy up at the military base or taxing the locals around this time. Bottom line, it would be empty for the next hour. Now was the time to strike.

"Lilith, one moment please."

"Huh?" The stable girl looked up in surprise as Kaze's request ripped her from her thoughts. Suspicion and caution crossed her face in equal parts before shifting to shock as Kaze grabbed her hand and began to lead her into the café. "W-what are you doing?!"

He didn't let up, though he did wince more than a bit on the inside. He wasn't going to hear the end of this any time soon. From either Lilith or Corrin for that matter. "Just trust me. Please."

Luckily she seemed to take him at his word, or at least enough such that she relented and followed him into the small restaurant. Walking up to the counter, Lilith's hand still in his, Kaze addressed the owner. "Hello sir, would it be possible to get a table?"

The man, probably in his early forties if his retreating hairline was any indication, looked at the ninja with a touch of repulsion. "Oy, a Hoshidan? And just what pray tell do you hope to find here? I damn well hope it's not hospitality."

"I'm here under my master's orders." Kaze lied easily. "I defected a while ago to the Nohrian military after my town was left to starve so the Hoshidan army could eat." Kaze shrugged and smirked. "But apparently my boss wants -"

"Ya, does it look like I give a wyvern's fart about that?" The man growled contemptuously. "Look here bud, we don't serve your kind here. So take your little whore girlfriend-"

Kaze's story died in his throat. "W-what?! You can't talk about her like that!"

The man sneered. "Like hell I can't. It just so happens I am great friends with the Captain up at the fort."

"Why you-"

"My goodness, just be quiet." Lilith groaned and pushed him aside. For a moment she stared down the cafe owner, watching silently as he raised an eyebrow expectantly. Sighing in resignation she produced a small coin from her pocket and placed it on the counter. One glance at it and the man's eyes went wide and all of sudden he was all smiles. "M-milady. I-I didn't know; I mean I was just-"

"Oh? So you do know what this is then. That makes this a lot easier." Lilith smiled brightly, but Kaze noticed the smile never reached her eyes. "Like my friend was saying, I was ordered to bring him here so he could get acclimated to Nohrian culture. However, he doesn't quite know when to shut up yet." She shook her head sadly. "So I would _really_ appreciate it if you could grab us a table already. After all, I would hate to have to, you know…" Lilith trailed off as she gestured towards the obsidian coin on the table. For the first time Kaze noticed the royal insignia carved into it. She leaned in a little closer and whispered. "If you make it quick, I might just be able to forget that little whore comment.?"

"O-of course. You are too generous, milady. Please, follow me." The poor man was scrambling to grab two menus. In a moment the two servants were seated at a small but comfortable table near a window. Bowing and promising to be back soon with some coffee, the owner retreated to the safety of the kitchen.

For a moment there was silence, but then, "I really hope you have a good reason for this."

He nodded, only half paying attention as he finished sizing up the area. It wouldn't do for them to be overheard after all.

"You hardly need to do that." Lilith answered, slight agitation lacing her voice. "I showed him Corrin's insignia. This place will be closed for as long as we're here."

"I thought that was what it was. But I thought Corrin told us not to use it?"

"Hmm, either cause a disturbance because we're here on royal business or one because you're a Hoshidan spy? Wow, what a great choice. Truly you thought this all the way through."

She was right about that. Though it pained him to admit it, he had overlooked the racial divide between the two countries. He was so used to being able to go anywhere he had wanted in Hoshido that this was a new and annoying experience. Maybe it was the fatigue and paranoia that had prevented him from getting any sleep over the last three nights. "I'm sorry. I was a little preoccupied. It won't happen again."

Lilith sighed and started to fidget with her hair in annoyance. "I hope so. Now there's a reason for this? A good one maybe?"

"Yes." Kaze opened his bag and pulled out the scroll Lilith and Corrin had found at Fort Dragonfall.

Lilith's eyes flashed in surprised recognition. "You managed to decode it? I thought you said the cipher would take a week?"

"I lied." Kaze said. As his ally's eyes flared he hastily explained. "There wasn't a cipher at all but after you hear what was in here..." He stopped and tried to grasp the proper words. He had to make her understand. "If Corrin heard what was in here he would insist we get moving now. And he just isn't ready for that yet. Even though it might be dangerous, for the time being we have to keep this a secret."

There was a moment of silence as Lilith sized him up. Just when he thought he was about to get an earful, she relaxed. "You're probably right. Gods know he'd take any excuse to get out of that shack. I- I'm sorry for doubting you. Though…" Lilith looked around the building before raising an eyebrow at the ninja. "Was the café really necessary?"

"Why? This is the quietest place in town right now? Normally I'd go with the inn, but you never know who's in there." Kaze asked, confused.

"No no, it's just when you first were leading me into the café, you know, I thought- well it- it doesn't matter." For some reason her face was the same shade of crimson as the scarlet end of her ponytail. Looking away, she hurriedly continued, "Just- say what the damn scroll says already."

"O-of course." _What was that about?_ Kaze thought, his mind struggling to keep up with her _. No matter, she probably just wants to hear the report as quickly as possible. Well, I'd better oblige._ "Alright, here are." Taking one last glance around to make sure no one was listening, Kaze began-

 **=It had been three days since the flash of light brought us here. We still have no idea how we came to be here but we have verified we are in Nohr. The men have finally finished repairs on the fortress and I'm starting to think we might actually have a chance. We've turned the bottom floor into a dungeon of sorts and are keeping the princess there. A lot of the men want to just kill her now and be done with it, but if we really are in Nohrian territory now, we might need to use her as a bargaining chip. As soon as we have a way home, we'll fulfill our orders and leave her body by the nearest town.**

 **=My scouts have discovered a town to the east. So far we've only done light reconnaissance, but we think there's a small military presence there. We'll have to be careful going forward. I'll put out the order to hide all fires from now on. We're in no position to fight the scum right now.**

 **=Found a new water source a few kilometers to the north. Thank the Dawn Dragon, our stores were almost completely dry. How do the Nohrians manage to live in this gods forsaken wasteland?**

 **=We have captured a Nohrian Dark Mage. Her description matches that of the Academy's famous Nyx, but that can't be right. Nyx graduated fifty years ago. How could she still look like a small child? A pity. If we could be certain of her identity, we could kill the princess and use the mage as a hostage instead. We will keep interrogating her.**

 **=This is Akio, Lord Akira is… He's dead. Everyone is dead. Damn there's so much blood… It all happened so fast. I guess I should start at the beginning. This morning, a diviner showed up at the gates to the fort. She said that she was from another troop that had been warped like us. She wanted to talk to our shrine maidens to set up a communication link of sorts. We let her in. Damn us, we let her in.**

 **After talking to our own maidens she requested a trip down to the dungeons. We tried to stop her but… for some reason none of us could. I can't explain it, it's like I wanted to do everything she told me, it- it- Oh my gods…**

 **She was in the room with the princess for five minutes. After that she was on her way out when she walked by ten troops escorting the Nohrian mage up to Lord Akira. I'll never forget the look on the girl's face when she saw her. It was white as a ghost. I've seen corpses that looked more alive. She stared at the diviner and in this real small voice said, "You… You're not human."**

 **The diviner stopped and- well I don't really know what happened next. There was a flash of green light and my friend Hideaki, may he rest in peace, pushed me into the next room over. The Nohrian must have got her hands on a fire tome somehow cause there was this surge of hot air from the other hallway. It was hotter than anything I'd ever felt, and I'm from the fire tribe!**

 **But then came the laughter. Gods above, I can still hear it. I've never heard anything as haunting, as downright evil. It's like it took a bite out of my very soul and was slowly chewing it to pieces, taking time to savor the feeling as it destroyed me.**

 **I'm ashamed to say that I hid. I curled up into a ball and hunkered down underneath a bed. It was all I could do to get away from that damned laughter. I must have passed out sometime around there.**

 **When I woke up, it was all silent. Whatever that diviner was, she was gone.**

 **Eventually the scouting party of about twenty men came back. We're all that's left. We've moved all the corpses to the rec room. Some of them weren't fully dead yet; that monster had ripped them apart but left their organs intact. A couple of the guys wanted to see if they'd get better but we all knew at heart; they were dead men. We couldn't bring ourselves to put them out of their misery, but we did manage to make their last moments more comfortable.**

 **There was nothing left of the Nohrian mage. We found a small scrap of bloody cloth we think is from her cape, but there's no way to know for sure.**

 **We're going to try and increase our defenses as much as possible, but after today… I'm not sure how much good it'll do.**

 **=Today one of the men reported seeing some sort of giant, silver bird flying above the fortress. I'm ordering all men on high alert for tonight's watch, all the good it'll do if that terror returns.**

Kaze put the scroll back into his bag and took a slow sip of coffee. Lilith looked like she might puke.

"So that monster… the demon was…"

"Yes, in the shape of a human." Kaze said softly. "Now do you understand why I wanted to stay away from the tavern or the forest? If they can shapeshift-"

"Then they could be anyone." Lilith finished. "Gods, how can we fight something like that?" She stood up suddenly. "We need to move Corrin. Now."

"Lilith. Please sit down! You're making a scene." Kaze whispered, his eyes shooting toward the direction the store owner had walked. "Think about it for a second. If they could all do this, Ose wouldn't have shown his true form back in Hoshido."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?!" Lilith hissed, though she still sat down. "Only a few really powerful ones can do it, so it isn't so bad. Is that really what you're trying to say here?"

"What I'm trying to say is it isn't as bad as it could be. Is it terrifying? Undoubtedly. Is it shocking? Without a doubt. But we need to stay calm, at least until Corrin recovers. Until then, our hands are tied. But at the moment, we're alive and it doesn't seem like they know where we are."

"I- But-" Lilith stuttered a bit. For a moment, Kaze thought that he had made his point, but then the stable girl's jaw set into a line. "No. Our hands aren't tied. We can still take precautions."

"W-what?" Now it was Kaze's turn to stutter. What the hell could they do to prepare against a monster like that?!

"It's simple. We go home, we test all of the food to make sure it hasn't been tampered with, we set up whatever magical alarms we have access to, and we make sure everyone has a weapon on them twenty-four seven." With a final sip, she finished off her coffee and got up from her chair. "Oh, and we'll also need to start keeping watch. I'll take first shift tonight."

One glance at her told Kaze that it would be useless to argue. She had that look in her eyes again... He sighed in resignation. "Fine. I've been meaning to catch up on my reading anyway."

"Cool. Let's go." She dumped the bags of supplies on his side of the table. "Oh, and the owner is going to think you're my servant so… make yourself useful." She smiled. "Pretty please?"

* * *

"Corrin have you taken your medicine yet?" Felicia's voice wafted in from adjoining room.

"Yep." Corrin lied, drumming his fingers against the frame of the bed. _Damn it I'm bored. When are Lilith and Kaze going to get back?_

"That's a lie. He's hidden it under his pillow."

"Corrin!" Felicia yelled from the kitchen.

"Azura! What the hell?!" Corrin shouted.

The blue-haired princess didn't bat an eyelid at the betrayal, instead looking at him in concern. "Corrin, you're still sick. I'm not going to apologize for forcing you to take care of yourself."

"Azura… I am fine." Corrin said while trying not to grind his teeth in frustration.

"Is that why you've woken up screaming every night for the past week?" The princess asked while ignoring his irritation.

"That's not-"

"Then those eye bandages you're wearing is some form of a fashion statement? I can't say I like it all that much. I can't see both of your eyes." She never broke eye contact with him, her face betraying no emotion as she spoke.

"What I'm trying to say is that I am healthy enough to make my own decisions." Corrin responded defiantly. "I don't need you all constantly worrying about me." He puffed out his chest. "Besides. I'm fine."

The two stared each other down for a moment before Azura threw a nearby book at him, hitting him square in the chest. Corrin's vision went white and a shrill squeal of pain escaped from his lips. "Owwww…"

"Hmm. I stand corrected. You are in perfect health." Azura said dryly.

"Oh gods, Corrin? What happened? Are you okay?" Felicia asked from the doorway in alarm, almost dropping the tray she had been holding. The maid rushed over to her master and began to look him over. "Please look me in the eye, I need to see your pupils."

"Felicia, I'm fine." Corrin insisted as he waited for the stars clumped amongst his vision to disappear. "Just give me a moment."

"Yes, he needed to be taught a lesson so I loaned him a book." Azura added on, taking a sip of water as she coolly surveyed the scene.

Felicia looked at the princess in confusion before shrugging. Taking a small bottle off the tray she measured out Corrin's medicine. "Milord, please take this."

"I told you that I didn't-"

"Lord Corrin please." Felicia begged. "If not for yourself then for your siblings. What kind of an example are you setting for Elise right now?"

Corrin couldn't say no to that. Especially not with the look she was giving him alongside it. Those puppy dog eyes just weren't fair. Wordlessly the former prince gulped down the medicine, and after a moment's hesitation, returned the dose he had hidden under his pillow as well.

"Now was that so hard?" Azura shot at him from her chair in the corner.

"I don't know? Is it hard to keep giving this much attitude?" Corrin asked innocently.

Azura smiled at him. "Only as hard as it must be to keep your ego in check."

"Wow, that's incredible! Truly you are an inspiration to us all!"

"We're back!" Lilith's voice came from the front of the shack. "Corrin we grabbed you some paper and ink while we were out."

"Thanks Lilith!" Corrin answered happily as his retainers entered the room. "Anything interesting happen while you two were out?"

"Uhh-" The two stared at each other uneasily.

"Actually," Kaze began, glancing nervously at Lilith. "Some nobleman gave me this weird cylinder thing. I was thinking of maybe selling it when we get back to Windmire."

"Oh? Toss it here. Huh, it is kind of weird I guess." _Oddly nostalgic as well now that I get a closer look at it._

"Hmm? Let me take a look." Azura said, getting out of her chair and walking over to Corrin's bedside.

* * *

The pair of the retainers made a quick exit from what had become the medical room of the shack. Lilith let out a nervous breath. "That was close."

Kaze shrugged. "You aren't wrong."

Lilith bit her lip and Kaze could practically see the worry eating away at her. Resting a hand on her shoulder he smiled. "Come on. It'll be fine. We have a plan don't we?"

"I mean yes but-"

"Then how about we concentrate on what we can do." He smiled and put down the groceries. "For one, I think it might be a good idea to check in on Mozu. From what I heard she has quite the stew planned for tonight."

* * *

" _Where the hell did Kaze get that?!"_ A voice in Corrin's skull asked in alarm. _"Drop it. Drop it now! Before it's too late!"_

 _Managi?_ Corrin thought in confusion. _How are you able to talk to me? I thought my dragonstone blocked you? And more importantly, I thought I made it perfectly clear I didn't want to talk to you._

 _"Stop being a child. And have you seen your dragonstone lately? It looks like you took a hammer to a stained glass window. I'm honestly shocked the thing even still works. But that's beside the point right now, just get rid of that damned cylinder! If you don't we'll all-"_

" **You are the ocean's grey waves** ,"

 _"Shit."_

* * *

She felt it before she heard it. And at first she thought some invisible demon had punched her in the stomach. Shock and pain mixed and merged into a ravenous snake that felt like it was eating her from the inside out.

Lilith's hands shot to her head as the first notes of the song hit her ears and began to weigh her down like chains. Her eyes widened in recognition, but she found herself unable to speak.

"Lilith?! Lilith, what's wrong?! Felicia! Come quick! We need a doctor!" She heard Kaze's voice, but it sounded like it came from an eternity away.

 _Why?_ Lilith thought in resigned despair. _Why are you singing that song now? Azura, have you betrayed us? After all this time, have you sided with your mother after all?_

* * *

Corrin turned to the source of the sound. It was undeniably beautiful. With the serene grace of a mountain stream, the song continued to flow from the songstress's lips, each note pristine and perfectly placed. Azura was leaning over him, staring at the cylinder, seemingly transfixed. Normally, the concept of being so close to her would be enough to fluster the former-prince to no end, but that song… it was so relaxing, so beati-

His hand shot up to his eye as a sharp, brutal pain erupted from it. "OH GODS! This again?!"

Somehow the Demifiend's voice pierced through the painful haze. _"Stop praying, and start moving, you idiot!"_

"Shut up." Corrin's gaze shot up at Azura. Each word was a chore, each syllabus feeling like he was trudging through a lake of molasses "Azura, please you have to help me, I don't-"

" **Destined to seek, Life beyond the shore just out of reach**."

Another wave of agony caused most of the muscles in his back to spasm. Somehow he managed to speak. "What are you doing? Can't you see that- Azura, why is your amulet glowing? And floating?"

" _I understand there is considerably less blood going to that tiny collection of cells you call a brain, but is now REALLY the time for that?!"_

 _I told you to shut your mouth!_ "Lilith! Kaze! Come quick, I need you-" Corrin was interrupted as the cylinder in his hand began to crackle and its symbols began to glow.

" _Why are you still holding that?! I told you to drop it!"_ By now his voice was thick with panic.

 _I'm trying, but I can't!_ Corrin thought desperately. _My hand's stuck to it!_ True to his word, it was as though the cylinder was bound to his hand with glue. As hard as he tried he couldn't seem to remove it. And worse, he couldn't transform his hand to blast it away either. In fact, merely trying to call on his dragon form seemed to make the pain infinitely worse. After a few seconds he found himself unable to endure it and gave up.

" **Yet the waters ever change, flowing like time"**

" _WHY ARE YOU USELESS?!"_

Corrin tried to open his mouth to respond, but found that he could no longer manage to do even that. Whatever magic had been assaulting him had finally succeeded in completely binding his entire body. He was barely managing to breathe, and if the situation escalated much further, he feared even that would become impossible.

In fact, he could only watch in abstract horror as the cylinder in right hand seemed to take on a life of its own. Slowly, the blue crackling light began to coalesce into a sharp rotating cylinder of light.

* * *

Kaze sprinted toward the door to the medical room with Felicia staring horrified at Lilith's stiff, unmoving form. Were they already under attack? Was Lilith's prep work too little too late?

Rounding the corner, he already had two kunai drawn and thought he was prepared for anything. In less than a second he saw Azura leaning over Corrin, heard the music pouring forth from her mouth, and saw the pendant she wore floating and shining with an ethereal light.

 **"The path is yours to climb."**

Those words… Kaze could feel the power behind them. Or at least he did for a moment. What followed was a hurricane of power that was so alien, so disgusting that he thought it would reduce him to something less than human, less than the smallest insect. It was everything that had been wrong with Ose's aura except infinitely worse.

And it seemed to be coming from Corrin.

A life time of training and battle-hardened instincts told Kaze the song was to blame. But as he took aim there was an explosion of blue light from Corrin's hand, the intensity of which blinded him. When his vision returned. Both his lord and the princess were gone.

* * *

Lilith continued to focus on breathing. It was all she could to keep herself together. Felicia had begun to put her through various tests, taking her pulse and checking her reactions and the like, but her mind was still jumbled and her mind couldn't be bothered to follow along yet. Mozu had come to see what had happened, offering the blunette some Hoshidan food and a glass of water. Lilith managed to nod in thanks, and as she forced herself to gulp down some water, she began stew over what had just happened.

She knew the song. Of course she knew it, that song had been created by her father with the express purpose of binding members of the silent dragon tribe. And even though she had done everything in her power to leave that part of her life behind, there were some things that just couldn't be changed. Biology was unfortunately one of them.

Footsteps. Lilith looked up to see Kaze walk back into the room, his face a porcelain mask of shame. "K-ka-ze." Talking still felt weird. The muscles in her throat were still lethargic from the binding. "Whe-re Corr-in?"

"He's… he's…" His voice trembled and Lilith felt her spirits take a nose dive. He looked like he was going to say more but before he could-

-CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK-

A sharp sound and a brief flash of light. And sitting in the center of the floor, about arm's length from Lilith where there had been nothing a second ago, was a green box tied with a white bow.

"What the hell?" Kaze asked. To his credit in the almost instantaneous flash, he had still managed to draw his weapons. "Felicia, drag Lilith into the other room. Mozu, give them cover. We need to-"

"Wait!" Mozu cut in. "There's a tag on the side!"

Kaze blinked. "I- I don't think a tag should justify touching the demon box. In fact, I barely think it justifies _talking_ about touching the demon box."

"But it's a present." Mozu said, moping slightly. "Don't yall think it would be really impolite to just throw it out."

Knock. Knock. Knock. The sound of a fist hitting the door to the shack. But that what wasn't what drew Lilith's attention. No, she was focused on the writing on the side of the card. She could only see a single word, but that word was the name of a certain familiar, auburn haired demoness. _It couldn't be…_

"I'll get it." Mozu said, getting up and walking towards the door.

Lilith reached out to check the card, careful not to touch the box as she did. Flipping it open she was shocked to find, in hastily written gold lettering-

 **Open the box. Take what's inside. RUN NOW!**

 **Pixie**

Lilith's warning died in her throat as she and the others were hit by Mozu's scream.

Turning, Kaze and Lilith were faced with the monster that had been haunting their nightmares ever since that terrible day Queen Mikoto had been murdered. Leopard spots, it's long cloak hiding its feline features, it's swords glittering in the shack's candlelight.

One of its twin swords was skewered through the door and had completely pierced Mozu's right shoulder, pinning her to the door. It wasn't a fatal wound, but she could not escape, only watch in horror as the demon turned in their direction. As it stalked slowly toward them, its lip curled into a hideous smile as it recognized its prey.

" **Well, well, well. Isn't this a surprise. I was sent to track down the humans responsible for Fort Dragonfall and I find the servants of the white haired prince."** Ose said softly, ripping his sword free from the door, causing Mozu to slump down to the floor, gasping for breath. **"I must admit; I was worried that today was going to be quite boring. But now…"** The demon raised its blades, one silver and one stained crimson. **"This chance… I relish it. So come humans, show me the might that was able to repel me before."**

* * *

 **Author's Note-**

 **Thank you very much for reading! If you have questions, critiques, or predictions, please leave a review and I'll do my best to get back to you!**

 **Disclaimer- This is a nonprofit, fan-based work. All characters and settings belong to their respective owners.**

 **Next Time- Escalation (1/28).**


	20. Chapter 18: COMP Online

Chapter 18: COMP Online

Kaze reacted first, throwing the twin weapons he had drawn towards the creature. Unfortunately, two kunai were child's play for a demon and Ose contemptuously knocked them aside, continuing to stalk forward.

Lilith tried to stand, but she had yet to fully recover from the binding and her legs crumpled like a sapling beneath a downpour. As she fell, she managed to get off a single blast of astral energy. But like with her legs, her blast was a pitiful display and Ose didn't even bother to knock it aside, merely letting it dissipate on his chest.

 **"Hmm, perhaps I was mistaken. The group I remember provided much more of a fight than you."** Felicia moved to flank it while Kaze lunged directly at the demon, a new knife already in his grasp. **"I do hope you are trying. I mean…"** The sword in Ose's right hand twirled one hundred eighty degrees and was thrust into the ground. Dodging Kaze's strike with a feline grace, Ose grabbed his wrist, lifted him off the ground, and threw him against the wall of the shack. **"You do understand what will happen if you continue to disappoint me, correct? After all,"** The demon's foot shot out and kicked Felicia back, causing her to fly towards Mozu. **"I only need to take one of you back alive."**

 _No._ Kaze thought, forcing himself to his feet. _Not again. Never again._ The demon took another step towards Lilith prompting Kaze to try and- _Oh gods my legs!_

* * *

The whirling grid of radiance continued to swirl, its pattern changing and warping as it moved. The mosaic-like structure stood in vibrant contrast to the dark void that existed in between the myriad dimensions that existed in the Amala multiverse. And there, trying very, very hard to keep her cool, was an extremely agitated Pixie.

"You know, when I was told I'd be working with you, I expected you to be a bit more… uhh put together?"

Pixie pit her lip as she tried to concentrate. Her companion, bored out of her mind, continued to berate her. "It's just kind of disappointing, you know? I guess that's why they tell you to never meet your heroes, huh?"

Her eye began to twitch as the urge to blast the younger demon became almost unbearable.

"Are you going to answer? Ah, come ooooonnnnnn. I'm booooored." The demon ran a scaled, clawed hand through her golden hair. "Plllleeeeeaaaaaasssssseeeee!"

"Vouivre…," Pixie said through gritted teeth. "Do you know what I'm trying to do right now."

"Hmm?" Vouivre trailed off, scratching her head as she thought. "Aren't you trying to break into the Demifiend's world?"

"That's right! Now tell me, do you know why we're still here and _not_ fighting the evil Shijima leopard demon right now?"

"Because of Metatron's barrier-"

"YES, because of Metatron's stupid, pathetic, infuriating, piece of crap barrier. A barrier I might add, that is incredibly hard to break." Pixie spared a moment to glare at Vouivre. "So… you gonna keep distracting me? Huh?"

Vouivre seemed to pick up on the venom in Pixie's voice and rapidly developed a pressing interest in her nails. "Would've thought you'd be pretty good at breaking it by now…," she mumbled softly.

"Vouivre, I swear to me, I will blast you, so help me!" But behind the bravado, Pixie did grimace a little. Her ally was right about one thing; this was taking far too long. Hopefully, one of them had managed to open the box she had sent…

* * *

Yet another burst of Astral energy fizzled out as Ose closed the distance between Lilith and itself. The stable girl made a fumbling attempt to open the green gift but Ose was having none of it. In an instant Ose's left sword, flashed through the air, moving skyward. The blade hit the corner of the box, taking a chunk out of it and launching it through the air while simultaneously forcing Lilith back, sending her sprawling.

Ose looked down at the prone Lilith and spoke. " **I didn't notice it before, but you're Valite are you not? Fascinating, has Garon moved to betray us so soon?"** Its foot moved onto her throat. **"No matter. We've more than prepared for the silent dragon's treachery. We can eliminate him at our leisure. Your presence here is nothing more than an annoyance. Though, if it's any consolation, I think you make for the perfect target."**

"What the hell are you talking about?" Lilith hissed through pursed lips.

Ose lifted her up by the ankle. **"What I'm saying is that I've found the one I'm going to take in for interrogation. So rejoice mortal. You'll have a slightly longer life than your friends, if a more painful one."**

Lilith fired another blast at Ose's eyes. As the demon screamed in pain it dropped her suddenly, Lilith's head colliding with the ground. For a moment she saw stars and felt the world spin around her as the pain in her head took her breath away. As it was, she found herself too short of breath to scream when Ose's second sword pierced her leg and continued on to bite into the ground, locking her in place.

" **Know your place insect,"** Ose spat, though Lilith could see that his eyes were bloodshot from the blast. **"Just because I'm going to take you alive doesn't mean you're going to enjoy it."** The demon twisted the sword eliciting a bloodcurdling scream from her. **"Now, let's finish off your friends, shall we?"**

The demon turned away from her, surveying the desolate scene before it. Its eyes falling on the green ninja, a soft chuckle leaked out from its lips. **"The box? Even at the end, curiosity continues to drive you. But do you really think… it will… help you…"**

All Lilith saw an opened box, a flash of silver, and a panicked Ose bolting towards him.

* * *

 _What the hell is this? Some kind of glove?_ Kaze thought looking down at the item he had liberated from the box. Silver and pristine with a red ring around the wrist and a black, smooth rectangular surface on the top, he had never seen anything quite like it. It was beautiful.

" **The box? Even at the end, curiosity continues to drive you."** Ose's voice drew Kaze's attention away from the gauntlet and towards the demon. Its attitude was completely confident and Kaze's eyes widened as he noticed Lilith pinned to the ground via Ose's second sword. **"But do you really think… it will… help you…"** The demon's eyes widened as it saw the gauntlet in Kaze's hands. For the first time since Corrin had unleashed his power against the demon, Kaze saw Ose show fear.

There was no more talk, Ose pounced at him, crossing the distance almost instantaneously, grabbing his first sword as he did. But there are limits even to how fast a demon can move, and instinct drove Kaze to put on the gauntlet, shoving the item onto his left hand.

[ _Worthy user located. COMP power-on procedure complete. Diagnostic check complete. Spiritual Wavelength successfully modified. Situational analysis: imminent danger. Beginning Demon Summoning Program.]_

As Ose's sword rained down, there was a new flash of light followed by the clang of steel as Ose's sword was deflected by another. Kaze's eyes widened even as Ose's drew narrow in dread. Another two quick exchanges, a blast of force that shook the foundation of the shack, and Ose was flying backwards.

Regaining its footing, the demon stared down the green and gold titan standing before it. **"Koga Saburo."** As it spoke, the demon shifted its footing and took a new stance designed to maximize the use of a single blade as opposed to its usual two.

" **Ose,"** the new demon replied. Unlike his counterpart, he seemed relaxed. His twin swords were both held upside down, their golden hilts matching the golden armor he wore on his arms, legs, and torso. The gold was paired with an emerald streak that went down the center of his body, from his head to his boots. Completing the ornate visage was a selection of purple jewels adorning his torso. He might have been a human in armor if not for his arms, which were not actually connected to the rest of his body and simply hovered in place, as though the shoulders of the demon were invisible.

" **Tell me, what business does the Dragon tribe have here, interfering in my hunt?"** Ose demanded, its eyes flicking back and forth between Koga and its other sword, still embedded in Lilith's leg.

But the question was doomed to go unanswered, as the motion did not go unnoticed and Koga Saburo dashed towards Ose. The leopard demon responded by swinging his blade and summoning a transparent shield of purple light between the two. But this only prompted Koga to throw himself to the side, translating the motion into a summersault. Finishing the motion on his knees Koga punched forward with his right hand, unleashing an intense blast of force that collided with shield, ricocheting back at him.

Ose smiled, raised his blade, and began charging a burst of orange light to launch while his opponent was hit by his own attack. Kaze could only watch as the emerald energy blast hit the golden demon, only to be knocked away as soon as it touched his skin. Taking advantage of the feint, Koga launched himself through the remnants of the blast, rushing a startled Ose, his sword's starlight-colored blade lashing out like a viper at Ose's charging weapon, knocking it out of the way before it could finish. Shifting on his heels, Koga transformed the motion from his lunge into a flip, jumping upwards and kicking Ose in the face as he did, sending the leopard sprawling. Landing three meters in front of the stunned demon, Koga finished the combo by unleashing a massive bolt of lightning from his left hand, hurling Ose through the wall of the shack and into the surrounding forest.

Not even taking a moment to check on the scattered and injured humans, Koga rushed through the newly made hole in the wall after his prey, leaving the broken home silent once more.

Taking advantage of the relative peace, Kaze began to crawl towards where Lilith lay. He made it faster than he expected, what with the injuries he had suffered prior, and soon he was forcing himself to his feet and taking hold of the sword still pinning Lilith's leg. Bracing himself for the exertion, he was shocked to find the sword slipped out like hot knife from butter. It was fluid and easy, almost incredibly so. However, a cry from Lilith drew him back to reality and he tossed the sword aside. Crouching over his fellow retainer he slowly proper her up. "Steady, steady, just focus on breathing."

"Where… Ose?" she asked between breaths. Kaze wasn't a doctor but even he could tell the woman was in sorry shape. Her cheeks were flushed, her leg was still bleeding profusely, and her eyes were glazed and unfocused. He'd have to do something quickly.

"He's gone. Another demon appeared and attacked him," the ninja said softly, ripping a portion of his clothing and twisting it into a makeshift bandage. "Now please, prepare yourself, I'm going to bandage your wound."

"Hmm?" Lilith's head bobbed forward like a marionette who had had one of its strings cut. Upon seeing her leg, her eyes grew slightly more focused. Slowly, she extended a trembling arm towards the wound, only for it to droop weakly. "D-damn it. Kaze… p-please…"

Silently the ninja helped her move her hand over the wound, only to nearly jump out of his own skin as she proceeded to let loose a blast of energy at the wound, searing it shut. Lilith screamed.

Through the shock, Kaze struggled to hold her steady as she began to tremble from the pain. Through haggard breaths, Lilith spoke, her voice only slightly louder than a whisper. "O… Okay. Now, t… turn my leg-" Lilith winced and bit her lip as she desperately tried to remain focused. "so I can-"

"No. I'm going to bandage it. We are not doing that again."

Lilith growled softly. "Kaze… we don't… have time."

"I don't care. You look you'll tip over any second now. I'm not letting you-"

[Master, if I might interject. Would it not be more prudent to instead focus on defeating the enemy demon so that more effective medical treatment could be administered?]

To Kaze's credit he managed to avoid dropping Lilith in surprise. The stable girl was unfortunately a little less composed and accidently let loose a burst of Astral energy at Kaze's head. At such close range the blast was impossible to dodge. With a resounding crack the blast collided with his face. "K-Kaze!" Lilith yelped. "I-I'm sorry I didn't mean… to?"

Her eyes widened in surprise and Kaze couldn't really blame her, after all he was shocked as well. Somehow, the blast strong enough to cauterize the wound on her leg had done relatively little damage. Make no mistake, his skin felt like it was on fire, but no more so than when he'd accidently walked in on Kagero and his brother Saizo. Damn the female ninja had had quite the arm…

"How-"

[Sorry to interrupt again master, but I'm picking up a signal that might be Ose attempting to call for help.] This time Kaze was able to identify the cold, feminine voice as coming from the silver gauntlet he now wore. [I recommend immediately rushing to Koga Saburo's assistance and attempting to terminate the enemy demon before reinforcements can arrive. Shall I set this as a new mission?]

Kaze shook his head violently. "Wait, just wait."

[Is something wrong master?]

"Yes something is wrong! I'm speaking to a-" He stopped mid-sentence and take a deep breath. Sighing in resignation he shook his head. "Who am I kidding, this is hardly out of the ordinary anymore." _In fact, this is probably on the less-weird side, everything considered._

[Is everything alright master?] The voice spoke with a hint of concern, and for the first time, Kaze realized that the black rectangle on the gauntlet had lit up, displaying text in what appeared to be Hoshidan Kanji.

"Yes," The ninja replied, hoping he sounded more confident than he felt. "so Ose is calling for help. Am I understanding you right?"

[Correct master. Koga Saburo is faring well, but Ose is proving difficult to put down permanently. If we act quickly you may be able to tip the scale.]

"But I can barely even scratch him, let alone hurt him. At best I'd be a diversion, at worst a distraction for that gold demon," Kaze replied. It hurt to say, but if they were going to come up with a strategy he'd need to be as honest as possible.

[Master? You do know I've taken measures to modify your Spiritual Wavelength, correct? You should be more than capable of dealing noticeable damage to Ose. It should also simultaneously reduce damage done to you. It's the reason why your ally's blast of almighty energy only gave you a first degree burn and not a third degree one.]

"Kaze go," Lilith said softly.

"Lilith?"

"We'll be fine. Go." She tried to push him away but found herself too weak. Frowning to herself she continued. "Look, if Ose calls for help we'll all die. Go. Now."

After a moment of hesitation, he nodded and gently lowered Lilith back onto the ground. "I'll be right back. Please hold on."

Exiting the shack through the hole formed during the battle, he began to run towards the sounds of battle in the forest. "Any advice, uh, gauntlet?"

[From my understanding you seem to have substantial combat experience already. If you were able to survive a fight with Ose without a COMP, there is little I can tell you that you don't already know.]

"Hmm," Not a surprise, but he was still disappointed. It would have been nice to have some sort of an edge. "Thank you."

[I'm sorry I cannot be of more use. At the moment my Analysis feature is currently disabled for an unknown reason. Also, you may call me Burroughs.]

"Alright Burroughs, I hope you're ready." Kaze said as the tree next to him exploded into a shower of leaves and splinters. As another blast of orange light surged towards him, Kaze threw himself to the right, hurling a knife in the direction the blast had come from.

A howl came from the enemy demon as the knife found its mark, and Kaze found it hard to not smile in spite of the situation. Being able to hurt the monster after so long was vindication incarnate. All the nightmares, all the pain, he was going to make Ose pay for all of it.

" **Finally decided to show up eh? About time."** Koga barreled down from the canopy above and fired a blast of compressed force at the trees in front of Ose, shattering their roots and launching them like a hail of gigantic spears at the enemy demon. **"I was starting to think my master was a coward."**

"Master?"

Koga groaned and Kaze got the distinct feeling that if the demon had eyes, he would be rolling them. **"We'll go over the finer details later. For now, let's erase this monster."**

"Fine by me." There was a rustle of branches and bits of bark as the enemy demon pushed the debris off itself. "Do we have any plan of attack?"

" **I will take the blunt of Ose's attacks. You concentrate on exploiting his mistakes. Since he only has one of his swords, I'd recommend attacking his left side. He has a blind spot there."**

"He does?"

" **He will momentarily."**

The two ninja, one demon and one human advanced upon the 57th spirit of the Goetia. Ose cartwheeled to the side, dodging Koga's strike and making a dash towards Kaze, no doubt hoping to take out the human before he could provide too much aid.

But this time Kaze was ready, whether it was the gauntlet or just a lifetime of combat experience, Kaze could feel the path of the demon's blade. And in defiance of all self-preservation instincts, Kaze crossed his knifes over his chest, parrying the blade. As the three blades collided, Kaze felt himself getting pushed back, and for a moment he thought his defense wouldn't be enough. But then the blades locked and Ose's eyes grew wide in horror. Realizing that it had spent too much time on the human and forgotten the more dangerous threat, it turned just in time to see Koga fulfilling his earlier promise. With a shining flash of steel, the golden demon's swords licked deep into Ose's face, blinding his left eye.

Somehow Ose was able to get his sword up and parry the follow up attack from Koga, but in its haste he had forgotten Kaze, who, seeing an opening, lowered himself to the ground and with a single kick, attempted to sweep the demon's legs. This time he knew it was the COMP. It had to be. Where before his knives and bombs had done nothing to Ose, this time a simple kick was able to knock the demon off balance.

Sensing weakness, Koga swung with both his swords, the twin slivers of steel curving down towards Ose's heart like a viper. But at the last moment before they struck, Ose cast a Tetrakarn spell, creating a barrier that reflected the swords back at their master. As Koga growled through the pain, Ose followed up the shield with a kick to Kaze knocking him back and jumping back to buy itself space. And once more the two groups stared each other down.

The next few minutes that followed were a desperate haze of steel and lethal energy blasts. Even as he pushed his muscles to the limits of exhaustion, Kaze forced himself to continue to fight. Dodge, repost, strike, it was like a dance. Only here a mistake would mean instant death. Eventually, after what seemed like an eternity the three combatants split once more. They were about to reengage when-

" **If thou art done, please lay down thy weapons."** A new voice from the direction of the cabin commanded their attention.

Turning back, Kaze was dismayed to see a golden coffin hovering above the ground. It was ornate, with an eye, a snake, and a man in prayer carved into the surface. But it wasn't the new demon that worried him, no, it was the captive that was laying on the ground next to it.

"Lilith!" His voice cracked in panic as he shouted. In desperation, he began to start towards the new demon but Koga stopped him, grabbing his shoulder.

" **I appreciate the bravado, master. But that would be quite fatal."** Koga shifted his stance so that he could see both of the demons. Addressing the newcomer, Koga continued, disgust lacing his voice, **"Is the hostage really necessary Mot? Are you really so afraid to fight a human that you would stoop to such means?"**

A dark scaled hand crept out of the coffin, lifting the lid and revealing a dark void. All that Kaze could see inside it were two glowing red eyes. **"Thou art mistaken Koga Saburo. My associate and I have no intention of killing thee and thy ally. No. We wish merely to have our questions answered."** Mot patted Lilith on the head, making Kaze's stomach boil in rage and panic. **"My little friend here is simply to ensure thy cooperation."**

Looking desperately at his ally, Kaze asked, practically begging, "Koga, please, we have to do something!"

Koga growled in frustration. **"Master… would you bargain with them?"**

" **I'm growing impatient,"** Mot spat. Out of the corner of his eye Kaze could see Ose beginning to move into a combat posture once more.

Looking back at Mot, Kaze thought about Koga's question. Would it be best to deal with the demon? It might save Lilith but… he remembered the slaughter at Dragonfall. Could he bow to the monsters responsible for that hell-scape? Never. No this wasn't what Corrin or Lilith would want. And even more importantly, it wasn't what he wanted. He shook his head. "No. We can't give in to them. Even if it kills us, we can't."

A soft, deep laugh came from Koga at his answer. " **Well said. Be it humans or demons, I have no mercy upon those who bargain away their pride and sorrow. I'm thankful to have a master who feels the same way."**

 **"Thou art really determined to destroy thine selves then? No matter. We will interrogate the two humans back at the cabin."** Purple energy began to crackle in the demon's scaled grasp. **"Come Ose, let us make quick work of these heretics.**

"Do we have a chance?" Kaze asked, knowing the answer but asking regardless.

 **"Not a good one. Mot has been worshipped as a god of death and well, we weren't able to put down Ose when he was alone. Hmm, we might be able to kill one of them, and Mot is weak to lightning. If we are extremely lucky we could kill Ose and force Mot to retreat. That said, Lilith would be dead, you would probably be dead, and if you weren't I certainly would be. Frankly, we would need a miracle to make it out of this without a casualty."**

[Master, Emergency Alert: Metatron's barrier has been temporarily shattered. Dimensional incursion in T-minus 30 seconds.]

 **"Like that for instance. Hold on!"** Koga didn't waste a moment, dashing towards Mot with his swords drawn. Instinct drove Kaze as he heard the faint crush of the forest underbrush. Turning on his heels, he saw an attacking Ose, who, seeing the motion from Koga, had charged towards them.

Ducking under the first strike, Kaze allowed his training to take over. The two danced once more underneath the trees, sparks flying like fireworks whenever the two blades clashed. Kicks, punches, and throwing stars were all launched in turn at the enemy, but none of them managed to do much of anything, and before Kaze knew it, there was a blade raining down towards him. Swinging a knife to parry the sword, there was a sharp crack as the knife splintered under the weight of the demon's attack. Desperately Kaze threw his arms in front of his face.

There was a metallic clang as the COMP blocked the attack. The sword ricocheted off but was quickly flying back, aimed underneath Kaze's guard. There was nothing he could do, and with a sickening screech it cut into his stomach.

His mouth opened and closed with no sound escaping. Pain like white-hot daggers crisscrossed through his stomach even as dark splotches appeared in his field of vision. From what sounded like a kilometer away, he heard Ose lecture him with disappointment.

 **"Such a pity. Given a few years of training you might have actually been worth a damn."** Ose kicked him in contempt, knocking him into a tree five meters away. **"May you find peace in the void."**

 **"Why don't you help him?"**

With Lilith slumped over his shoulder, Koga pushed off the side of tree three meters above the ground, rocketing down at Ose. It moved to defend, but Koga batted the blade aside before cutting through Ose's sword arm in single stroke. The now disarmed demon screamed in agony.

" **Dost thou really think this accomplishes anything?"** Mot asked. Through the injured haze, Kaze could make out scorch marks dotting the coffin, most likely from Koga's lightning. Raising its finger, Mot summoned a massive sphere of purple energy above its head. It must have been over 3 meters in diameter and rippled with almighty energy. Koga froze upon seeing the orb of power. Seemingly sensing Koga's fear, Mot chuckled softly. **"Though art still going to die. Tis truly unfortunate, my lord would have preferred the one you hold to be intact. Fate can truly be cruel. Now, make thine peace."**

Ose called out a warning but it came a second too late as a bolt of lightning popped the ball of energy like a balloon.

"Sorry Motty Python," Pixie said, electricity still crackling around her fingers as she descended from on high like an avenging angel, "but mine's bigger."

Everyone froze. Ose's eye widened, Mot's hand began to tremble, and Koga began to slowly reach down to grab Kaze's hand. Pixie, seemingly ignoring their reactions surveyed the battlefield. "Sorry I'm late. You would not BELIEVE what I've been through. Miss Vouivre here seems to think that bugging your boss incessantly when they're trying to work is a fine way to spend your time!" For the first time, Kaze noticed another demon hovering to Pixie's right. Currently glancing off to the side in shame. "Now, what did I miss?"

Pixie's smile turned to horror when she saw Kaze's bleeding form on the ground. Then she saw Lilith draped over Koga's shoulder and her face froze. Her eyes tracked the blood on the ground by Koga's feet to Lilith's leg and then…

All hell broke loose.

In an instant Pixie had thrown her hand skyward and summoned a swirling mass of white and purple wrath the size of castle Krakenburg. Under the shadow of imminent annihilation, Ose bolted towards Mot who had thrown open its coffin for the demon to escape into so they could teleport out before the blast could atomize them. Koga sprinted desperately away with Lilith even as Vouivre swooped down and grabbed Kaze, casting a healing spell on his stomach as she did so.

The distraught demoness, blind in her rage, brought the almighty spell down on the enemy in a fit of coly fury. There was a rush of air before everything went white. It was all he could do to stay conscious in Vouivre's arms as the death dealing tempest wiped out everything in an apocalyptic roar. And eventually, even that became impossible.

* * *

When he finally came to, Kaze found himself leaning against the side of the cabin with Felicia inspecting his stomach wound. From where he was sitting he could see Pixie and Vouivre tending to Lilith and Mozu as Koga stood guard by the edge of the destroyed wall. Beyond that, where there had used to be a forest was a massive, simmering crater. In fact, from his vantage point It looked like the cabin had been the only thing for kilometers to be spared from the explosion.

Felicia smiled down at him. "M-miss Pixie, he's awake!"

"Thanks dear!" Pixie chirped happily. "Well, well, well, if it isn't the valiant warrior. Congrats on surviving your first fight as a demon tamer you green haired ninja, you."

"D-demon tamer?" His head was still swimming in a pool of haze. "What are you- ugh, my stomach."

Pixie winced. "Yaaaaa, that's going to be a little poignant for a couple days. But look at the bright side, you don't have any nerve damage, you didn't lose any organs, and your first fight as a tamer ended with you surviving a fight with two demons that had COS levels of 89 and 40 respectively. Not bad at all for your first outing."

"Does it really count if _you_ were the one who blew them up? Or at least tried to?" Vouivre whined from the corner. "Seriously, how do you blow up a forest and _miss_ your target?"

"You see Vouivre," Pixie scolded her like a parent chastising a small child. "some demons are strong enough to open up their _own_ portals through Amala. You know, instead of mooching off their boss."

"Hmph. I'd have thought my boss would've been experienced enough to prevent their escape!"

It was too surreal, watching the two inhuman forms bicker. "This- this is too much. I'm going to go make- wait, how long was I out?"

"A couple hours." Felicia answered.

"Dinner then." Kaze finished with a sigh, "I'll be in the kitchen."

"Kay. We'll call you in when Lily and Mozu are up." Pixie said, taking a break from arguing with Vouivre to call over. "After all we have quite a bit to talk about and not too much time to do so."

* * *

 **Author's Note-**

 **Thank you very much for reading! If you have questions, critiques, or predictions, please leave a review and I'll do my best to get back to you!**

 **Disclaimer- This is a nonprofit, fan-based work. All characters and settings belong to their respective owners.**

 **guest- Thanks! Hope you enjoyed this one as well!**

 **Next Time- Confessions of a Fairy (2/11/17).**


	21. Chapter 19: Confessions of a Fairy

It was several hours before Lilith and Mozu managed to regain consciousness once more. It was several more hours until they were both lucid enough to hold a conversation. By the time Pixie deemed everyone ready to talk, it was well into the night.

"Alright, let's get started." Pixie said with a grin, "First things first- AHCHOOO!" The fairy let out an extremely fake and exaggerated sneeze. When it was greeted by an awkward silence, Pixie's face tightened in irritation. "Damn it Vouivre! That was the signal! Can't you do anything right?"

"I know." Vouivre smirked. "This is more fun."

"Koga, you have permission to go dragon-slayer on-"

"Ugh, fine! Here are your stupid Dormina rocks." The blonde haired half-dragon threw two small stones at Felicia and Mozu. Upon striking the two humans, there was a small flash of light and a thump as the two hit the floor, fast asleep. "There! They're asleep! Happy?"

"Always. Now, let's get those two back to the Northern Fortress, shall we?"

"What are you doing?!" Kaze demanded.

Pixie thought about the question for a moment. "Uhh, knocking out your friends, sending them home so they'll be safe, and getting ready to bring you and Lily up to speed. Did I miss anything? Nope, don't think so. That's it."

She said it like it was the most natural thing in the world. Lilith could see by the look on his face that Kaze was trying very hard not to get upset. Eventually he managed to control himself, restricting himself to merely saying, "But why?"

"Because Kaze, best case scenario they get in your way. At least this way they have a chance of living. Besides, the less people who know Corrin's a reincarnated demon the better."

"WHAT?!" Lilith screamed as Kaze turned into a statue.

Koga chuckled from his corner before rising and walking into the wreckage that had been the kitchen. **"Good going Pixie. Way to ease them into it. You're as subtle as a siege engine."**

"Uhh… I was admittedly sloppier than intended." Pixie replied sheepishly. Bobbing around in the air, she looked all the part of an overexcited bumblebee searching for its next flower. "But what the hell, sometimes you just got to jump in the pool, am I right?" She looked back and forth between Kaze and Lilith's petrified faces. "Damn, maybe I did go a little too far. Vouivre, you drop off Felicia and farm girl, I'll get started on the debriefing."

"Kay." The demon and the unconscious Felicia and Mozu vanished in a flash of light as Pixie looked back at the Lilith and Kaze, her eyes gleaming like a cat about to pounce.

Koga returned and passed Lilith and Kaze each a glass of water. " **Do try and calm down. It'll only be worse if you're stressed."** He leaned in closer to Kaze and whispered. **"She can sense fear."**

"Ha ha Koga you're hilarious."

They waited a few minutes for the two to stop trembling. By the time Vouivre returned they had finally managed to settle down.

"You guys ready?" Pixie asked expectantly.

Lilith nodded. "Ya, but can you try to put it a little more lightly? I'm not sure my heart can take another bomb like that."

"Only for you, Lily. Hmm, now how to put it," Pixie murmured to herself. "Usually I'd try to use the physics explanation but, you know, dark ages. It'd probably just confuse you more." Pixie smirked and Lilith felt a chill shoot down her spine. "Well what the hell. Could be fun so, let's try it anyway."

"Try what exactly?" Kaze asked warily.

"And it looks like we have a volunteer!" Pixie's smile was like a crocodile's. "Say Kaze, mind if I ask you a quick little question?"

"I don't suppose I have a choice, do I?" he replied with a sigh.

"Not if we want to get anywhere by morning," Pixie admitted. "So let's get to the point, shall we? Now, if I were to ask you to destroy say… that wall over there, could you do it? Now think carefully."

The ninja pondered the question for a moment before responding, "I suppose I'd burn it to the ground. Either that or smash it to bits." He shrugged. "It's not a very sturdy wall."

"You'd think, but sorry, the answer is nooooope," Pixie cut in with glee. "Let's start with the later first; even if you were to break it into pieces, those pieces would still exist, right? There'd be more of them, yes, but the wall would still be around in some shape or form. I could put it back together, given enough time. And as far as burning it… Kaze, just where do you think ash or smoke comes from? I know we live in a world of magic, but come on."

Understanding dawned in Lilith. Not in what she was saying, no, it was all gibberish. It was the understanding that if left to her own devices, Pixie would probably just keep playing with Kaze, and that was unacceptable. "Just what are you saying? That no matter what we do that wall is indestructible?" Lilith asked incredulously, trying to get the conversation moving.

"In worlds far further in the tracts of civilization than yours, there is a little rule called the Law of Conservation of Mass. To sum up a lot of complex science mumbo-jumbo it basically says that matter and energy can neither be created nor destroyed." Pixie looked at them expectantly. "So… what I'm saying is…" She motioned for them to continue her train of thought.

"So no matter what we do…" Kaze trailed off.

"We could never completely erase the wall." Lilith finished.

The petite fairy floating in front of them gave a thumbs up. "Bingo! Even most demons cannot directly violate that law. It takes some pretty powerful magic to warp reality to that degree. Like, SUPER powerful. I'd say there's only a handful in all existence that could manage it. But that's not really my point."

"Then what's your-"

"Lily, do you know where Corrin's demon powers actually come from?" Pixie interrupted, cutting her off.

"I- no, but-"

"Didn't you say he was a reincarnated demon?" Kaze asked. "I'd suspect they came from that."

"Not a bad answer but it doesn't explain where they actually originated. And by the sound of it, he hasn't told you." Pixie nodded sadly. "Uh huh, thought as much. Shin's always had trust issues." She sighed in what might have been annoyance. "Honestly, I'm not sure I should really be the one to tell you both this, but…"

For the first time since meeting the fairy, Lilith noticed that she seemed unsure of herself. Was it shame? No, rather it seemed Pixie really felt guilty about what she was about to tell them. What were they about to hear?

"Approximately 3,000 years ago, there was a boy by the name of Shin Managi," Pixie said, her face cold and hard as stone. "His life was no different than any other, he went to school, ate food that was terrible, and had girl troubles. Completely normal, or at least he was, until the world ended."

Pixie stopped, and it took Lilith a reason to figure out why. _Is… Is she pausing for dramatic effect?! We don't have that kind of time!_

"Ended?" Kaze asked, coming to her rescue and indulging the fairy. "How?"

"Oh, Kaze, I'm so glad you asked." Pixie responded, "A man whom we shall refer to simply as 'The Dick' called down an unearthly light and destroyed the world. "

"That's it?" Lilith interrupted. "Some guy just up and blows up the planet? How?"

"I was getting to that Lily! Geese, let me tell the story." Pixie muttered, annoyed. "See, each world has a cycle of death and rebirth. The Dick performed a ritual that accelerated that process. It's kind of like jumping off a bridge. All humans die eventually, but jumping would expedite the process quite a bit. The Dick pushed Shin's world off the bridge so to speak, and in doing so transformed it into a shadow of what it was, a place between life and death, a place of demons known as the Vortex World. The Dick, Shin, two of his friends, and his teacher were the only survivors. Five humans out of seven billion." Pixie paused for a moment. "Eh, well there was also Aleph, but he wasn't really alive, so I don't think he counts…"

This was getting a little surreal, even for a story from a tiny, floating demon. "Uhh…" Lilith began slowly.

"BUT," Pixie cut in again, trying to compose herself, "unlike the other four, Shin wasn't allowed to endure the apocalypse as he was. No, for better or worse he attracted the attention of a monster." Pixie's eyes narrowed and she met both of their gazes. "I will not say its true name here. It would be meaningless anyway as your religions are not based around it and the Great Will. I also would rather not attract its attention. Suffice to say it is known by many names, the first traitor, the light bringer, and the fallen angel are a couple of the more well-known ones."

"Anyways, it got hold of him and inserted a Magatama into his eye." Pixie pointed at her left, brown eye and her voice trailed off slowly. She shook her head. "Sorry, a little context would probably help. See a Magatama is a special demonic parasite."

"A what?!" Kaze stuttered. Lilith didn't blame him. She felt sick. _A parasite, in his eye?!_

"A parasite. Or was it a curse? I don't know, Shin was the one who studied them in depth and even he was a little fuzzy on the distinction. The bottom line is that they embody demonic power, and because of that, they have the ability to turn a human into a demon."

Pixie must have noticed the looks of horror on the two retainers' faces because she stopped and desperately tried to reassure them. "Waitwaitwaitwaitwait, WAIT. Trust me, it's not as bad as it sounds. For one, unlike some methods, this one didn't affect his mind or soul. He was, ehm, _is_ still himself."

For some reason Lilith had the image of a monstrous, bloated insect squirming and writhing in slime as it munched on her brother's skull. Shivering in spite of herself, she forced herself to think of something else. "So this, eh, 'bug' was it?"

"Actually, they kind of look like these super long slugs with really big pinchers on their heads for digging through your-"

"AS I WAS SAYING!" Lilith said, stopping the description before Pixie could give her anymore nightmares. "If what you said was true, then Corrin was turned into a demon. So why is he human now?"

"Is he?"

When her question was only answered by silence, Pixie continued carefully. "The Magatama are a perversion of the natural order, a blasphemy of the highest degree. They were a curse created in time immemorial with the express purpose of bringing about the end of all things, the apocalypse. The final battle between Law and Chaos."

"Are those the two sides in this conflict?" Kaze asked. "Did Ose and Mot belong to one of them?"

Pixie nodded. "They belonged to an organization called the Assembly of Nihilo. It's a group of humans and demons that traditionally serve the Law forces. Only thing is that they're kind of zealots and don't really obey Heaven's orders. We've fought them a few times in the past. It's odd though, I thought we'd wiped them out… Hmm…"

Once again Pixie seemed to stare off into space, seemingly preoccupied with her memories. Raising her hand ever so slightly, Lilith asked, "You said 'they' before. Does that mean that there are more than one Magatama?"

"W-what? Oh, good question Lily. You're right. There are actually twenty-five of them. But we're getting off track. Eh, where was I again?"

"Shin had a bug put in his eye by what you've described as the ultimate evil." Kaze deadpanned. "After the end of the world." By the way he said it, Lilith suspected his patience was about as drained as her own.

"Riiiiiight," Pixie said, oblivious to their annoyance. "So with the Magatama bonded to his being, Shin transformed into the prophesized Demifiend, a demon with the heart and soul of a human. After his metamorphosis, Shin began to wander the Vortex World, where he almost immediately ran into yours truly." Pixie smiled. "From there we struck out on our own, cracking skulls and taking names." Her expression turned sour. "That was until, among other things, we found out the purpose behind the Magatama."

"And?" Lilith asked, her voice no louder than a whisper.

"Whatever created the Magatama did _not_ have a friendly relationship with Kagutsuchi." Pixie replied.

" **Oh for the love of- get on with it. This is important,"** Koga Saburo growled.

"Fine!" Pixie glared at the other demon. "The Magatama give the Demifiend the exclusive ability to destroy every Kagutsuchi that has or ever will exist by killing one of them. Chain reaction, boom ba da boom, all gone. Finished. Deceased."

"And Kagutsuchi is…"

" **The god that presides over the infinite worlds in the main Amala multiverse. With its death, all of the worlds under its charge would cease."**

"Cease?" Lilith paled.

"Shin was created as the final key to the apocalypse." Pixie, said her voice that of a bitter and betrayed warrior. "It was the fallen angel's wish that Shin destroy all of existence. He was to kill time itself, that was the destiny the devil chose for him."

Kaze looked back and forth between Pixie, Lilith, Koga, and even Vouivre, waiting for one of them to break out into laughter at the joke. "You can't be serious. How can someone destroy all of existence?"

"It's what the Magatama were designed to do." Vouivre said with a shrug. "Duh! Why do you think we're going through so much crap to keep your boss safe?"

"That's not to say its automatic." Pixie added hastily. "There are couple formalities he'd have to do. Like first Shin would have to willingly embrace the Magatama and become a true demon. He didn't, so right now we're relatively safe. It's why we could beat Kagutsuchi the first time without blowing everything to kingdom come."

But something about what Vouivre had said rubbed her the wrong way, and Lilith felt the cold claw of panic take hold of her. "You can't be serious! Corrin doesn't still have those things inside of him does he?!"

"Afraid so, Lily," Pixie consoled gently. "Though it's not by choice. Remember our conversation about the wall?" She waited for the two humans to nod in assent. "Well the Magatama are infinitely worse."

Koga nodded. **"It's said that even the Great Will itself would be hard pressed to destroy them outright."**

"But as long as they exist, they're a threat to everything, be it human or demon, " Pixie added. "So Shin, being the overall amazing and bestest buddy ever, decided to take them off the board. But to do that, he had two options, forgo his humanity and become the eternal guardian of the Magatama or do the single thing that might destroy them."

"And that would be…" Lilith asked, dreading the answer.

"Inheritance… From parent to child." Pixie stopped. "Basically? Have sex."

"…What?"

Pixie looked like she was trying very much not to laugh. "Hey, I hate the idea as much as… no I think I'm on the top of the list. But, well, as it turns out, whenever someone with Magatama has children, the Magatama are evenly divided between them. Don't ask us how we know that, it's a long story that involves some very peculiar people. One of which was in a wheelchair."

Pixie continued, flying up a little bit and taking a seat on a counter, her legs swinging gaily as she spoke. "So say, Shin were to have two kids. I know, pretty unlikely he'd find a woman willing to have them-"

"Because you'd sabotage the relationship." Vouivre muttered.

"An irrelevant detail. But setting aside the ludicrousness of the scenario, since there are twenty-five Magatama, each kid would get twelve, with the types being split randomly."

"And the last one?" Kaze asked expectantly.

" **Eliminated. Purged from existence."**

"So over the course of several generations, assuming all of his kids had kids and so on and so forth, eventually all of the Magatama would be erased." Pixie clarified. "Or at least that was the plan."

"Wait, wouldn't the first kid get all of them?" Lilith asked, confused. "If he had twins-"

"AHH BAD THOUGHT!"

"If his _wife_ had twins," she all but snarled through clenched teeth, "I could understand. But how would the Magatama know how to split? They can't know the future."

Silence. "Uhh, Lily," Pixie said gently, "you're speaking to three demons about magic parasites that can cause the end of all existence. Is foresight really the deal breaker here?"

"But- but-"

"So Shin had a game plan to destroy the parasites. It would take several generations, and would ultimately involve sacrificing his life, but he felt it was the only way."

"That said, it wouldn't be easy. Even if he did manage to have kids, they wouldn't be able to use their powers until sexual maturity. Or was it puberty? Let's just say sixteen years old," Pixie considered thoughtfully. "So in the interim period, there would be a danger. After all, not everyone wants the Magatama destroyed, and if the kids, or Shin for that matter, were killed, the Magatama could be extracted from their corpses."

" **And a new, more destructive Demifiend created. One that wouldn't be opposed to destroying all the universes connected to Kagutsuchi."**

"That's why he was reincarnated," Kaze said, understanding finally dawning. "Not only would it hide him from all his enemies, but he also wouldn't have to worry about keeping his powers in check; he'd be a mortal with no memories of being a demon."

"Give that man a pair of socks, he's finally done it!" The fairy flew from her perch to land daintily on Kaze's shoulder, patting him on the head affectionately. "You're right. That was the plan, reincarnate Shin so he and his kids would grow up never knowing who they were. By the time our enemies realized he was missing, a couple generations would have passed and we would've already won. Magatama destroyed, apocalypse averted. That is why we picked this world- average number of kids is pretty high at four per generation."

She sighed. "So we made a deal with Mets, he blocks any demons from kidnapping Shin and in return we get a guarantee that he and the main Law forces won't attack. Of course we also couldn't intervene, but at the time Shin thought it was a pretty good deal."

A snap of her fingers and a metal box appeared in the center of the room. "And thus, here we are. Koga, what's our status?"

Koga's head jerked skywards. **"We're almost out of time."**

"How long?" Pixie asked, all business.

" **Five, ten minutes tops."**

"Cool. All right, then let's wrap it up boys and girls." Pixie held up two fingers. "The way I see it you've got two options. One! You ignore everything you heard today. You pretend it was a dream, or maybe you bash your head into a wall until you forget. But that won't make it go away. Hell, it will only make it worse. Or two…" Another snap and the box opened. Slowly forcing herself to her feet, Lilith warily looked into the container. "Or two, you take these and use them to fight back."

At first glance, she wasn't quite sure what she was looking at. However, the more she looked, the more she made sense of the shapes. There were two sets of armor, one black and emerald, one cobalt and red. Alongside them was a small metal rectangle, about ten centimeters long, two knives, and a set of three rings, all the same dull red color.

"I hope you guys appreciate just how hard it was for me to get these," Pixie continued. "Seriously, you would not imagine the crap I had to go through. Apparently giving mortals COMPs without a permit is frowned upon. Go figure."

"This armor… these weapons… can they-"

"Can they beat the demons? Can they destroy the Assembly? Can they save Corrin and the rest of your world?" Pixie asked, and though her eyebrow was raised, something told Lilith she was dead serious. "Well that depends on just what you want to do, now doesn't it? As I said, you have a choice. Even you Kaze. You may have already turned on the COMP, but you owe us no loyalty. If you want, you could even escape to another world."

Three sets of demonic eyes stared them down. "So what are you going to do?"

Kaze and Lilith looked at each other. There really was only one answer. Lilith nodded and Kaze gave word to her feelings, "We're in."

"Remember that to walk this path is to shed any semblance of a normal life. The COMPs will change you in ways you can't imagine. Magic and fighting prowess that are considered supernatural will be yours, but in return, you will never know peace. Even if you win, you'll be hunted by demons for the rest of your lives. If you should have children, they too will be beset by horrors. They will curse you for the life you forced upon them. Are you prepared for such a fate?"

Kaze nodded. Lilith's head made a jerking motion that was probably a nod.

Pixie smiled. "Super! Now, as I see it, you've got three objectives." She held up a finger. "One, find Shin, keep him safe, and more importantly, prevent him from regaining his memories." She grimaced. "Really can't stress that enough. If he gets his memories back, everything goes to hell. Metatron's barrier breaks down; so I can come back. Our treaty with him burns so it'll probably start a war as well. Basically, rest assured there'll be an avalanche of enemy demons everywhere. If Corrin gets his memories back, this world burns."

"Okay, end of the world bad. Got it." Lilith said. "Next?"

A second finger. "Two, crush the Assembly and any other demons preying on this world. Preferably with extreme prejudice. They may be law aligned, but their actions give you full clearance to attack without breaking the treaty. Oh, needless to say, this includes killing any Assembly allied humans as well. Pretty simple. Pretty straight forward."

She groaned. "And three, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but help Shin get laid. If the plan is gonna work, then after this whole fiasco is all said and done we're going to need him to start a family. A nice, old fashioned happily ever after. Think you can manage?"

"So you're asking us to save the world, keep our boss safe, and help him live happily ever after?" Kaze shook his head in exasperation. "Honestly? We were already planning on doing that."

"Exactly." _I will keep Corrin safe, no matter what,_ Lilith thought.

"Well then I guess I have nothing to worry about," Pixie said. "Last thing, Lily, the cellphone in there is yours and should act as your COMP. It's also how we'll stay in contact. Speaking of which, there's a preprogrammed assistant on there that'll help you get situated but I'll teach you how to use it real quick." Pixie showed Lilith how to open up the cellphone and make a test call. Normally that would be enough to spiral her into shock, but after two consecutive demon attacks, Lilith was beyond something as trivial as culture shock. "Vouivre can help as well. Speaking of which, she's now your demon. Sorry for the quality issue, I had to grab what was laying around."

"Oh come off it, you searched me out for this. Something about two dra-" Vouivre was cut off by a fierce glare from Pixie.

"That's what I thought," Pixie muttered.

"Umm, Pixie," Lilith began, "do you think we can do it? Save Corrin and Nohr?"

She was quiet for a moment, uncharacteristically so. When she finally spoke, she was quite quiet, "I think you'll try your very best. Whether or not that's enough, I honestly don't know." She trailed off, before returning with a sad smile. "Fate can be funny or cruel or both. Even we demons don't know what it may hold. Be that as it may, remember, I'm only ever a phone call away."

"Thank you," Lilith said, smiling in spite of herself. There was something infectious about the fairy's smile and Lilith found herself feeling a tinge of sadness at the prospect of her leaving. She may have been a bit frustrating, but besides Corrin, it was a new experience to have someone care this much about her. Lilith thought she kind of liked it.

Pixie flew over and kissed her on the cheek. "I'll always be there Lily, even if it may not be in person. I'm going to have to say goodbye for now, it wouldn't be good if Mets caught me and Shin in the same world. Broken treaty and what not. But we'll meet again, just you wait!" Pixie leaned in close and whispered, "So keep your little bro safe, kay?"

The fairy began to float skyward as a rip in the sky began to form around her. "Good luck everyone, we're all counting on you! Shin should reappear about thirty seconds after I go. I'll call if there're any changes."

A flash of light, a sharp crack, and Pixie was gone, leaving Kaze, Lilith and the two remaining demons alone in the shattered cottage.

Ten seconds passed.

Then twenty.

Then a minute.

Then five.

Finally, the phone rang. Lilith answered, spoke for a moment, and then turned to Kaze, her expression dark. "Corrin and Azura are back in this world, but…" she grimaced, "they're in Hoshido."

* * *

 **Author's Note-**

 **Thank you very much for reading! If you have questions, critiques, or predictions, please leave a review and I'll do my best to get back to you!**

 **And here we are, Lilith and Kaze both with COMPs, albeit different models, setting out on a quest to reunite with Corrin and save the world. Oh, they grow up so fast... That said, just because they're demon tamers now does not mean they're on Flynn or Aleph levels of power. Hell, they've still got a long ways to go. Expect a couple growing pains.**

 **Disclaimer- This is a nonprofit, fan-based work. All characters and settings belong to their respective owners.**

 **Gus- Lilith had a great back story in the Fates DLC, I really wish they had touched on it a bit more or even made her a playable character. Anyways, thanks for reading! As for Corrin and Azura... expect their story next time, along with a couple people you might recognize.**

 **Guest1- Right now Kaze and Lilith are the only ones with COMPs. Whether or not that will change in the future is anyone's guess.**

 **ApexUtopia- Thank you so much, that means more than I can say! Honestly Pixie has been my favorite character to write so far. She's an unholy mixture of caffeine, C4, and cuteness. She's going to take a backseat for a little bit to let the FE group have a chance to shine, but rest assured she WILL be back! (with a bang)**

 **Next Time- We go back a day or so and follow Corrin and Azura through the portal. (2/25/16)**


	22. Chapter 20: Return to Ylisse

He ignored the brilliant streaks of crimson as well as the gigantic orbs of white light streaming by him through the darkness. It was all Corrin could do to endure the mind shattering pain brought on by the combination of Azura's song and the cylinder still grasped in his right hand.

Through the haze of anguish, he began to feel his left arm move, seemingly on its own. It felt like he was a puppet on a string. But the pain was too much, he noticed the movement, but didn't do anything to stop it. In the face of what was felt like a thousand daggers carving him to pieces from the inside out, an extra oddity didn't seem relevant. It was only when his left hand closed around Azura's neck and began to squeeze that it gained his attention.

"What are you doing?" The words came out horse and disjointed as Corrin had to muster all his focus to stop himself from screaming.

 _"Saving your life."_ The Demifiend stated matter-of-factly. _"It's this woman's fault that we're in this mess. If we allow her to continue singing-"_

"Get your hands off of her!"

 _"The hell are you- HEY STOP IT!"_

Corrin's hand stopped squeezing and began to tremble as both halves of the former-prince's personality struggled for dominance. Even though he was under a constant barrage of pain, Corrin did his best to push; the panic and concern for Azura fueling his will. The Demifiend fought back with the zeal one would expect from a demon, but even so, he was still weak. Being only an aspect of Corrin, it was all he could do to manifest himself enough to move, let alone fight off the more dominant personality.

The result was a stalemate as neither side was willing to back down.

 _"She'll kill us both."_ Shin argued. _"I'm trying to help you!"_

"Like you were trying to help me at Fort Dragonfall? The only reason you give a damn about me is your own filthy life! You don't give a damn about anyone but yourself. Stop pretending otherwise!"

 _"You spoiled brat! What do you know? You've been trapped in a castle for the last twelve years!"_ The mental assault gained renewed vigor as the Fiend fumed. _"You think I want this? You think I want another Chiaki?"_ It felt like a wyvern was ripping him apart from the inside. _"Do you? DO YOU?!"_

"Corrin?"

Azura's small voice cut through the anguish and the battle of wills like a knife. Her voice awakened a desperation inside of him, even as he felt Shin's assault let up for a moment. Realizing he was momentarily free from the accursed song, Corrin was able to direct his full wrath against his opponent. But even then, his foe did not lay down his arms, continuing to launch a brutal campaign in his attempt to choke Azura. What had begun as a last ditch effort to retake his body had once again returned to a stalemate.

It ended with a final glance into the songstress's eyes. They were the same shade of gold as the last light of dusk. Odd what the mind thinks in its last moments.

With a final apologetic stare, Corrin mustered the last kernel of strength within him, and ripped his hand free of Azura's neck, pushing himself away from the princess. Spiraling out of control across the endless void, Corrin could only watch in silence as Azura spun further and further away from him, continuing her trek though subspace. His other half had gone silent upon defeat, leaving the former prince all alone as he floated though nothingness.

* * *

He didn't really notice the sphere until he hit it. The feeling was much like how he expected getting hit by a horse at full gallop would feel like. And for a moment, Corrin had the wind knocked out of him. The next, he was falling. The dark night sky of interdimensional space gave way to the harsh light of day and Corrin began to feel his speed increase as gravity dragged him closer and closer to earth.

Fumbling, he tried desperately to reach into his pouch, to grab his dragonstone before he hit the ground and shattered every bone in his body. Already, the G-forces from the fall were starting to make him dizzy and was he being strangled? His cape! The piece of fabric had gotten tangled around his neck Damn, even now he could barely see and-

A foreign object slammed into him and once more he was sent reeling. He heard a higher pitched voice, probably a woman's by the sound of it, swear and what sounded like a horse neigh in panic.

Finally! He managed to fish his dragonstone out of his pouch, and with a sudden flash of light he transformed, shedding his cape and finally giving him the wings he needed to halt his decent. But there was hardly any time to celebrate. His senses were screaming at him to move, to dodge to the side, anything. Not questioning the impulse, the dragon hurled himself to the right even as the brave lance skewered the air he had been a moment earlier.

 _What was that? A Pegasus?!_ Corrin thought in desperation, readying himself for combat. However, the impulse only lasted an instant as he realized that the attack had not been entirely unwarranted. _So that's what I hit on my way down. Ugh, I guess that explains the neighing._

Only taking a moment to appreciate the irony that he was probably about to save someone that wanted to kill him, Corrin plunged down to the earth like a majestic silver bullet, turning his body and grabbing onto the Pegasus and its rider before they could strike the ground. The good news was that he didn't get stabbed by the knight's spear. The bad was that he was nowhere near strong enough to fly carrying all of their weight.

But then again, situations like this were why the First Dragons invented lakes, and with a gigantic splash, the dragon, Pegasus, and rider fell below the surface.

* * *

Azura continued to float in between the worlds. She had stopped trying to make sense of it a while back. The human mind wasn't made for such an environment. Existing beyond time, beyond any recognizable laws or rules, beyond mind or matter; it was maddening.

"Y—'ve g-t to -e k-d—ng." The voice was undeniably female, and though it was soft, almost seductive even, there was an unmasked cruelty to it. Hovering at the edge of unconsciousness, Azura still could barely suppress a shudder. And what was this feeling of déjà vu?

"Certainly o-t -f char-cter." A male voice observed. "To think he would let her live. Well, this is certainly fortuitous for us. It would have been disastrous for her to die to your… carelessness."

"Oh choke on an angel's spear!" The first voice complained. The voices were becoming clearer. Either they were getting closer, or the mere act of talking was helping Azura to come back to her senses. " _We_ could have stopped him if it was about to go too far. What I'm concerned about is a Fiend showing _mercy_!" She spat the last word out like it was the vilest concoction known to man. "Ugh. You hear so much about a guy. Shin Managi this, Demifiend that. Grrr. Our master _promised_ I would get a chance to break the abomination in his prime. Instead I get to see a spoiled brat flounder about while making goo-goo eyes at some weak willed pile of-" The voice stopped. "Oh my goodness she's awake."

"W-what?" The male voice asked in alarm.

"I said she's awake you moron! She can hear us!" Before Azura could respond an ivory clawed hand with crimson, varicose veins was clasped over her face preventing her from seeing anything. "Not that it matters much, Loki, but I expect you to pay more close attention in the future. It is hardly the responsibility of the mistress to clean up the table scraps after a meal. That duty belongs to the dog."

"Milady, I believe Managi has made his way into another world." The man who must have been Loki answered, ignoring the woman's jab. Azura's vision began to go black from the pressure of the claw. "I suggest we wipe her memory of this event and be done with it."

"…" A growl and the claw tightened.

Just as the darkness overwhelmed her, Azura heard a small chuckle in ear. "You know, you really ought feel honored, _princess_. After all, you still have quite the role to play, albeit an unwilling one perhaps."

* * *

"I despise lakes." Corrin grumbled as he dragged himself from the water for what felt like the hundredth timer. Looking at the red haired knight already on the shore, he dropped the saddle bag onto the beach. "There, that should be the last of it, happy?"

"No, but it will have to do." She bit her lip in distaste.

"You know; a little gratitude would be nice."

"You incapacitated my Pegasus, ruined my mission, and almost killed me."

"And you tried to stab me. I think that makes us even." Corrin glanced at the Pegasus sitting next to their make-shift campsite, it's right wing, bent at an odd angle. "Though I am sorry about your partner. I was caught off guard,"

The woman sighed. "As was I. Manaketes are hardly commonplace in this day and age. I never expected to run into one."

"Literally too."

She glared at him. "Anyways, I thought you were a Plegian who had somehow caught up to me. It would certainly explain that white hair of yours." Again she sighed. "Not that it matters much now. I'll never get to the exalt in time. My sisters, they all…"

Corrin watched as she descended into silence. He didn't need to ask to figure out what had happened. Normally it would be best to give her some space for a while, but some of the things she had said rubbed him the wrong way.

 _Plegians… I feel like I've hear that before… Where was it… had something to do with an amnesiac… and a really rude knight._ He snapped his fingers as the memory came to him. "That's right!" He smiled at the suspicious face of the red haired woman, his outburst ripping her from her grief. "Hey this probably seems a bit out of the blue here, but we wouldn't happen to be in Ylisse by any chance, would we?"

"Yes…" The voice answered slowly.

Corrin smiled at this rare moment of luck in the shipwreck that was his life. "Damn, what are the odds? You wouldn't happen to know a Chrom by any chance, would you? Maybe a Robin or a Lissa? Hell, I'll even take a Frederick at this point."

Before Corrin could blink he had been thrown to the ground and restrained. "What do you know of the prince? Answer me now."

"Why do I always get the crazy ones?" He mused. The grip tightened but did not injure. She was a soldier, Corrin realized. She wouldn't attack a citizen unprovoked, but if that citizen was a threat to her liege… The trust would be best. "I fought alongside him before. My servants and I aided him in taking down some, eh, very particular foes." When her grip didn't loosen, he continued. "Look, if what you said about getting to the exalt in time is true, we don't have time for this. I may not know this exalt personally, but if they're a relative of Chrom's I want to help."

"And why should I believe you?"

"Because you ran into me at full speed on a Pegasus and I shrugged it off. Frankly, if I was going to kill you I could do it right now. Also I probably wouldn't have saved you, but that's beside the point."

"Sounds like a good reason to keep you where you are."

Corrin shrugged. "Perhaps, but that won't save your boss, will it?" Then softer. "Please, Chrom is a friend of mine. If he's in danger, I want to help him."

There was a long moment before she finally got off. "Fine." The woman glanced around, her gaze eventually falling on her Pegasus. "Let's assume you're telling the truth. We still have a bit of a problem."

 _"Not as much as you'd think."_ A voice once again cut through Corrin's consciousness like a knife.

 _What do you want fiend?_ Corrin asked, making no effort to hide the venom in his mental voice.

 _"Oh come on, there's no need for that."_ The voice sneered. _"After all, I'm not going to kill anyone. You've made your stance on that abundantly clear. Oh no, I'm not going to hurt anything. I'm going to heal it."_

* * *

An hour later the recently acquainted pair was flying at breakneck speed towards Chrom's position, desperate to make up for lost time. Through it all Corrin's head swam with largely uncomfortable thoughts.

 _Even after all the things he did, all the things he said, I still needed his help._ Corrin thought bitterly. _It's no different from back then. Have I really not grown at all since the battle with Ose? Am I really that useless by myself?_

No voice answered his questions. Outside of helping with the Pegasus, the Demifiend had been remarkably silent. He was probably still pissed at him, the bastard. Corrin was under no illusions about their relationship at this point. He needed him. If Corrin died, he would die as well. But that was the extent of their alliance.

 _And yet…_ His memory flashed back to the healing. After the Dia spell had reknit the shattered bones and restored the blood flow to normal, the Pegasus had bowed its head low to the former-prince.

* * *

 _What the- why?_

 _"You really shouldn't be that surprised."_ The Fiend's voice sounded bored, but there was the fairest trace of pride mixed in as well. _"The pegasi used in Ylisse and Hoshido are distant descendants of the original, mythical one that flew forth from the neck of the gorgon Medusa. As a member of the Beast tribe it was subservient to Cerberus, who in turn is subservient to me."_

 _Cerberus?_

 _"The leader of the beast tribe. His was the fourth to rally to my banner against Kagutsuchi; after the Fairy, Brute, and Night tribes of course."_ The Demifiend said as the Pegasus nuzzled its head on Corrin's hand, much to Cordelia's shock. _"Such a loyal creature. Even through all these generations it still remembers its heritage. You could stand to learn something from this, Corrin."_

 _And what is that? Blind obedience?_

 _"No. To trust your instincts."_

* * *

 _And yet how can I trust my instincts when I share this body with a psychotic demon?_ Corrin lamented. _How do I even know if you're influencing me or not? Just what am I becoming?_

"Hey did you hear me?" Cordelia's voice dragged him out of his thoughts.

"Uhh, sorry didn't catch that."

Another sigh. "I was just saying I see smoke in the distance. I think we're getting close."

"Really? That's amazing! I never knew how fast a Pegasus could be."

"She's normally even faster but she isn't used to carrying two people at a time."

"I mean; I did offer to fly on my own." Corrin had to hold a hand over his mouth to keep from swallowing the Pegasus Knight's crimson hair.

She shook her head. "No. We need to keep you a secret for as long as possible. If you were able to shrug off a Pegasus flying into you at top speed, well… I doubt the Plegians will be able to stop you." She chuckled. "You know, I heard stories about manaketes as a child, but I never really believed them until now. To think, that your race is really that strong."

"That uh, might be due to something else." Corrin mumbled. But the sound of her laughing had reminded him of something, or rather someone. "Hey, weird question, but you haven't ever been to Nohr before, have you?"

"Huh? I mean, I know I was just talking about stories, but is now really the time to joke?"

"Ah, I'll take that as a no." _Weird, she looks just like Selena. Same hair color, same face, even the same eyes. They could be sisters. Well to be fair, Selena is FAR more competitive. She would have probably had me fly just so she could beat me in a race. I don't know how Camila keeps her in line, really._

"Alright, here we go, hold on tight!" Cordelia yelled brandishing her lance and preparing to dive.

Corrin's felt himself blush. "Hold on? To what?!"

"Just grab my waist and try not to scream!"

* * *

Chrom grimaced as he swiftly dispatched another two Plegians. Despite Robin's best strategic efforts the enemy's air superiority was too much. If things kept up like this for much longer they'd be overwhelmed.

"Prince Chrom!"

"What?" Chrom's eyes darted toward the sky just in time to see a streak of white and ruby darting across the blue sky. _Naga's blessings! Is that Cordelia?_ "Robin, the sky!"

Robin parried the oncoming Plegian before blasting him point blank with a well-timed thoron. "What? Preparations are almost done." He looked to the sky and took note of the new combatants. If he was surprised, he didn't show it. "Sumia! Cover her and get her down to safety. Ricken, Miriel, Virion, suppressing fire! Everyone else, fall back to cliffs." He looked to Chrom. "Chrom, how many wind tomes do we have?"

"Not enough to take out that many wyvern riders."

"Damn." Robin cursed. "Plan B. Get me all the lantern oil and fire times we have and-" Robin's eyes widened. "Hey Chrom, there aren't any dragons in the Pegasus Knights, are there?"

"No, why do you-" Chrom followed Robin's glance and locked onto the silver dragon that was currently decimating the Plegian wyvern riders. "Hey, doesn't that look like-"

* * *

"Corrin behind you!"

Corrin sheathed his claws in and spun below the ax, partially triggering his dragonstone as he did. Grabbing the wyvern's claw with his tail, the former-prince swung himself up onto the saddle, kicking the unfortunate Plegian off his own wyvern. Transforming his left hand into something more akin to the gaping maw of a beast than any claw she had ever seen, Cordelia watched as he blasted several bursts of what looked like water, knocking four other riders from their mounts.

Diving off the back of the now rider-less wyvern, he retriggered the stone, shifting back into his winged form as he moved onto the next soldier.

Cordelia was speechless. Corrin was mowing through enemy soldiers at a rate where even she was having trouble keeping out. But even with his help, it wasn't enough. There must have been at least twenty wyvern riders when they had arrived, and now thirty more had arrived from across the border. They were desperately outnumbered.

"Cordy!"

"Huh? Sumia!" Cordelia said happily. "Thank the gods! Tell me we have a plan."

The brown haired Pegasus knight nodded as she fell into formation at Cordelia's side. "Robin's pulling everyone back to the Cliffside."

"The new tactician? I thought he was Plegian? Why's he helping us?"

"It's fine he's on our side." Sumia answered while parrying an incoming ax. "But we need to rendezvous fast. He's got something in the works but he doesn't want to deploy it until we're safely on the ground." She paused and glanced at the silver dragon currently slashing at Plegians with his tail. "Who's your friend?"

"Just someone I ran into." Cordelia muttered with a small smile. "He said he knew the captain."

"He knows Chrom?" Sumia asked sharply. "And you're sure he isn't lying?"

Cordelia motioned for Corrin to fly over to her. "If he is, I don't think there's much we could do to stop him."

* * *

Corrin watched in awe as the huge clouds of smoke wafted up into the sky. Robin had set to burning the vines and bushes that dotted the Cliffside, using anything flammable really. Lantern oil, ale, everything was being used. But the plant life present was soaked by recent rainfall, so instead of burning bright and pure as it should have, it instead gave off huge clouds of smoke, obscuring the skies and making it almost impossible to see. For those on the ground, it was an annoyance. For those in the skies with a massive cliff to avoid, it was fatal.

"Archers, let loose!" Robin yelled as another three riders careened into the Cliffside. "Mages, thunder tomes only. I repeat, thunder only, we cannot risk blowing away that smoke."

It was a display of skill even his brother Leo would have been envious of. What had begun as an enemy ambush had turned into a Ylissian route.

"Surprised?" Chrom asked as he approached. "Robin's really come into his own over the last few months."

"I can tell," Corrin remarked. "It looks like he really has managed to pull everything together. But aren't you celebrating a little early? The fight's hardly over yet."

Chrom laughed. "The fight ended the moment you and Cordelia bought us enough time to setup our little game. They just don't know it yet." He sat down next to Corrin and the pair watched as the dark shadows flying through the ever encompassing smoke began to lessen and lessen, eventually disappearing all together. "I have to say though, you're the last person I expected to see flying to our rescue. No offense."

"None taken. If memory serves I made quite the exit last time. "

"Tell me about it. What was that? A flash of light and the next second you and your friends vanish into thin air." Chrom shook his head in disbelief. "If I hadn't seen it myself I'd have never believed it."

"Oh ya that… to make a long story short, the patron goddess of your country was slightly irritated that I came to Ylisse without her permission. Luckily she let me off with a warning."

"Right. And I'm guessing she let you go cause she was smitten with you as well?"

Corrin grinned. "Well, that might have been a part of it… But seriously! It was some green haired dragon named Naga I think." Corrin said. "Said she had something to do with your sword."

Chrom raised an eyebrow. "Naga? You don't say."

"You still don't believe, me do you?"

"Come on Corrin, you have to admit it's a little farfetched, even from a manakete."

"But don't you worship Naga, how could I know about her?"

"I don't know, maybe Cordelia told you."

Corrin chuckled. "Oh ya, in between all the attempted murder I bet. We really hit it off, the two of us."

"I'm almost afraid to ask."

"Eh it wasn't that bad. Just came out of nowhere." Corrin paused for a moment. "In fact my being here is kind of out of nowhere. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I could help and all, but I never really intended to come back. It just sort of happened."

Chrom shrugged. "Doesn't really matter to me. You really helped us carry the day."

"I'll try not to make a habit of it." Corrin joked. "But in all seriousness, I'm afraid I don't quite know how to make my exit."

"Trying to one up yourself?"

"Always, but this is more of a 'I don't know how to get home' kind of problem." He let out a short breath in frustration. "Hell, I don't even know how I got here. It happened so fast."

Chrom looked at him for a moment and then smiled. "Well, if you're looking for a place to stay, you're free to stay with the Shepherds for a while."

Corrin was stunned. "Are… are you sure?"

"Of course. You're a good person Corrin. And a hell of a fighter to boot. You'd fit in well here, that much I'm certain of."

It was tempting, oh gods was it tempting. To live in a world where people actually liked him and didn't want to kill him as a traitor? That was, well honestly it was a little weird. But still… He smiled and shook his head. "Sorry Chrom, I'm afraid I can't do that. After all, what would Lilith and Kaze say when we eventually reunited. I imagine I'd be hung up by my wings for a week." he chuckled. "And that's to say nothing of Camilla and Xander. In all honesty, it's probably be less painful if you executed me than if I stayed. At least you'd be quick."

"Wow. Sounds like you have quite the home to return to."

"Ya." Corrin agreed. "But, I wouldn't trade it for the world.

"You will meet my sister tomorrow though." Chrom continued. "After all, you're a noble from a foreign nation who's helped us multiple times, we can't let that go unappreciated."

"You really don't have to."

"I insist. Besides, if there is a way to get you home it'll be in the libraries of Ylisse." He winked. "And what better way to get in there than a letter from the Exalt herself."

Corrin didn't really have an argument for that so instead decided to lean back and enjoy the sight of a hard won victory.

* * *

Later that night, after the Shepherds had moved to a far more secure and defensible position, the campfires were lit, the alcohol broken out, and the celebration begun in earnest.

As someone who had been sealed in castle for most of his life, it was new experience for Corrin. Sure he had been to a few balls and festivals, but nothing like the raw unfiltered spectacle he saw before himself now. The dancing, the drinking, the storytelling he was a part of it all. When everyone heard about not only how he had helped Cordelia get to them in time, but also how he had helped repel the mysterious invaders in the South with Chrom, they had welcomed him with open arms.

And open cups as he found out. After a few hours of celebration Corrin found his head was flying higher than the Pegasus he had been riding earlier that day.

Another few hours of dancing and storytelling later, Corrin snuck off to the side and watched the proceedings with a half drunken smile. After all he had been through, it was nice to have even a slight reprieve of happiness.

He looked up at the sky and was less than surprised to see a whole different sky staring down at him. He couldn't recognize a single star. The scene brought back memories of the world in between dimensions, as well as the companion he had left behind there. _I wonder how Azura is doing. Did she find a world like I did? Damn, I hope she's alright._

"Looks like you're having fun." He looked up to see Cordelia smiling down at him. "You done already?"

"On the contrary I'm just taking a break." Corrin replied pushing the thoughts of the Hoshidan princess from his mind. "You on the other hand, I haven't seen you all night."

"Someone has to stand on guard. Besides, after everything that's happened... well I'm not sure I'm in the mood to celebrate just yet."

 _Right her entire squad was murdered yesterday. No wonder she doesn't feel like partying. Wow, what kind of a moron am I to forget that?_

"But I also wanted to talk to you."

He was genuinely surprised to hear that. Unfortunately, his drunk self was the first to speak up. "Oh? I'm a luckier man that I thought."

She groaned. "Are you always like this?"

"No, but I might have had a few to many." He laughed. "Who would have known dragons could get drunk, huh?"

"Dragon Virion. Oh the horror."

Corrin laughed again. "That's a little much don't you think? I'm bad, but nowhere near Virion levels."

"Perhaps." She conceded. "Anyways, I wanted to thank you for your help. I don't know if we would have been able to hold off the riders without it."

"… Are you sure you haven't had anything to drink? This is nothing like the knight who pinned me to the ground this morning."

"That was before you helped us." She put a hand on his shoulder. "Besides, if Chrom trusts you, I trust you."

Corrin nodded. "I swear if he put you up to trying to get me to stay…"

"No, I'm just thanking a friend."

"Well in that case, you're welcome. And thank you for helping me to find a place to stay for the night. It err… it means a lot. I've been on the move for a while now. To be able to sit down and finally rest, even just for a night, well it means the world."

"Wow, you have had a few too many. You're getting emotional."

"Try not tell anyone."

She smiled. "Take care Corrin. May your journey bring you peace."

"You too Cordelia. You too."

* * *

All his life, Corrin had heard stories of dawn. How it's supposed to be beautiful and hopeful. Living in Nohr, a kingdom of near perpetual darkness had only made the light seem that much more magical. Hoshido had been wondrous in that regard. Being able to see what he had often heard about. Even now he still held a little bit of wonder for the early morning sun.

That ended today.

 _UGH. My head. Kill. Me._

Then the trumpets began to play and everything got worse.

Corrin's eyes shot open in irritation. What the hell were these people thinking? It's not like there's a damned royal precision going- "Oh."

Forcing himself to get up, and dusting off his jet black armor as best as possible, the Nohrian Noble tried to push aside his hangover and put on a brave face. If he was going to act as the envoy between Nohr and the ruler of this country, he would have to be at least semi-presentable.

"Oh gods, I didn't even know my head could feel like this."

He found Chrom, Lissa, and Robin waiting in the center of camp. Smiling at Robin and returning Lissa's wave he took his place in line along with Frederick who greeted him with a stiff but respectful nod.

Not quite sure what to expect when it came to the Exalt's appearance, he couldn't help but be a little surprised to find that she was a woman only a few years older than Camilla.

He was even more surprised when he saw her traveling companion.

"Azura?!" Corrin stammered, all thoughts of etiquette forgotten the instant he caught sight of the blue haired princess.

Azura froze in shock as she made eye contact with him. "Corrin?! What are you doing here?"

"That's what I was about to ask you! Last time I saw you, uh, well…" Corrin's face reddened in embarrassment as the memory came back. But for some reason Azura merely looked at him in confusion. Did she not remember?

"So you must be Corrin." The voice was soft yet regal. "I thank you for aiding my brother both here and in the south." Emmeryn said, smiling gently at him.

Corrin kneeled. "It was nothing your grace. He helped me defeat an enemy of mine."

"I'm happy to hear it." She said, motioning for him to stand back up. "From what Azura's told me, there are more than few out there who want to see the two of you dead."

"Oh, have you two been talking about me? I'm not sure whether to be flattered or concerned." Corrin raised an eyebrow at Azura but she gave nothing away.

Emmeryn chuckled. "You'll have to take that up with your friend." Her smile faded a little as she grew serious. "So do you expect to stay with us long? As I said, I have spoken with Azura at length and she seemed a bit confused as to where we were." She looked Corrin in the eyes and spoke slowly. "However, she stressed you both ought to leave as soon as possible. The reason why though I can only guess."

"Quite. Apparently neither Nohr nor Hoshido is anything more than a legend in these parts. Even some of the _beasts_ found there are nothing more than stories." Azura said and though her voice was as emotionless as ever, her eyes flashed as she looked at Corrin. "Thankfully though, the Exalt has been more than accommodating to me."

The message was not lost on then noble. _So Azura is worried the demons might follow us here._ Corrin thought grimly. _I didn't even think of that. All the more reason to get back home as soon as possible. But it doesn't look like she explained to the Exalt about Ose… I'll need to be discreet._.."

"It was only decent." Emmeryn answered. "What else would we have done, leave you floating on that branch in the river? Never."

"Picking up a random stranger you just met, offering them food, shelter and the chance to ride beside you." Robin said softly as he glanced at Chrom. "All of a sudden everything makes sense." Lissa snorted and Fredrick groaned while both Chrom and Emmeryn looked lost.

"I am very grateful to your hospitality your grace." Azura said, trying to get the conversation back on track. "It was very noble of you to help me."

"Yes, thank you." Corrin added before wincing. "But if it's not too much to ask, would it be possible to get access to the royal library?"

"Corrin is looking for a way to get back to his own world." Chrom said. "I told him the library would be the best place to research a way back home."

Emmeryn nodded. "Of course. Though, how did you come to be here in the first place?"

Corrin scratched his head. "I don't really know myself. All I really remember is that there was this weird cylinder type thing." _Perhaps it's best not to mention the song. I wouldn't want to dump suspicion on Azura. And I definitely shouldn't mention the Demifiend as that will certainly send hostility my way._

"Oh you mean this?" Azura extended a hand holding the very same artifact that had ripped them out of space time. "I found it my pocket when I came to."

 _"Alright, even you have to find that suspicious."_ The Fiend's voice was sharp and almost out of nowhere. In addition, Corrin got the feeling the consciousness was even more on edge than usual.

 _I'll admit nothing._

 _"Get over yourself. This is weird and you know it! Besides, if you're not polite I won't help you get home."_

 _Who says I want to go back?_

The voice growled. _"Can we skip the game please? I'm you remember? I was listening to your whole speech with Chrom yesterday. I was also watching you make a fool of yourself, but I'll ridicule you about that later. More importantly, fighting in another world without permission breaks a LOT of interdimensional laws. Trust me, you do not want to give anyone an excuse to attack you."_

 _Are you that afraid?_

 _"Hey, don't get me wrong. Normally I'd wipe the floor with those losers, but right now our body is being piloted by an eighteen-year-old brat with an ego large enough to block out the sun."_

Corrin's eye twitched. _Just- just open up the portal._

 _"Good answer."_

Corrin looked up to see everyone present staring at him. "Uh did I miss something?"

"Kind of?" Lissa said. "You were just staring off into space for a bit."

"We were beginning to wonder if we should bring you to the medical tent." Robin added.

He waved them down. "I'm fine. Better than fine actually. I think I can get Azura and myself home."

"Huh?" Chrom gasped. "How?"

Corrin picked up the cylinder out of Azura's hand. "Honestly, no clue. But my inner jerk knows how to use it." _Ready?_

 _"Yes, but the blue haired witch stays. She's shady enough as is. I don't want her close enough to cause any damage."_

 _We are not having this conversation now. Azura is coming and that's final._

 _"FINE."_ Corrin was surprised by how quickly he relented. _"But only because theres something wrong about this world right now. It's almost as though we're being watched."_ If disembodied voices could shiver, this one did. _"Also, you watch another memory in return, understood?"_

 _No promises._ Corrin responded.

 _"Ugh, that's as good as I'm gonna get isn't it?"_ The Fiend sighed. _"Very well, might as well play nice for now. Maybe then you'll stop being such a colossal-_

 _Just get on with it._

" _All aboard the SS Amala it is then kiddies! Next stop Nohr!"_

* * *

The sorceress sighed from her perch on the top of the cliff as Azura and Corrin said their goodbyes and entered the portal. "What a disappointment. He barely even reacted! What's the point in messing with mortals if they don't have the decency to overreact?" She scowled. "What a brat."

"Milady, they did have a bit of a moment."

"Not NEARLY enough Loki." She fumed.

"So if you're done complaining… Are we finished here?" he droned.

"Stuff it Loki. I'm not in the mood."

The demon chuckled. "But why? For our first ever test run, this went far better than we could have ever hoped." His smile widened. "After all, our diva's song has certainly exceeded my expectations."

"Hmph. Are you saying you doubted our master's predictions?"

"Hardly. I was just… concerned. A mix of Anankos's blood and Managi's soul? Well, that is definitely new territory. As such I was uncertain our favorite princess's song would have any affect. Needless to say my worries have been put to rest."

"I'll admit she has her uses. But she's SO boring! What use is a doll if she's not entertaining?!"

"Oh come now, she is more than that."

The woman shrugged. "Not after we're through with her, she won't be."

Loki frowned. He hated when she got like this. It made her rash and unpredictable, even more so than usual. It was time to get this conversation back on track. "I've received a report that the neutral demons have made their move. Apparently Ose thought it would be a good idea to attack the Demifiend's attendants during his absence."

"Ahhh, did the poor kitty lose a life?"

"Apparently so. It would probably be best to return home and fully assess the situation."

"Oh?" The woman cooed. "Are you that frightened, dear?"

"No, nothing major happened. Pixie just handed out a couple of COMPs. Do try not to get too excited."

"… Then _why_ are we talking about it?"

"Because they were given to Kaze and Lilith." Loki waited for her reaction but was greeted with only a blank stare. Rolling his eyes, he continued. "The Demifiend's attendants I mentioned? The two servants that have been traveling with him since Hoshido?"

"Oh, the cute ninja and Managi's sister."

"Honestly milady, this is necessary information."

" _Yes_ , because a dog breeder cares about the mutts as much as the purebreds. Loki, if they were worth my notice, I would have recalled them." She answered, dusting off her uniform as she stood. "But still. COMPs you say? Do we have any idea as to their demons?"

"Koga Saburo has been identified, milady."

"Hmm, Koga Saburo you say? I didn't expect the Dragon tribe to get involved. It might be time to pay them a visit after all. Though…" She paused thinking to herself before shaking her head. "No. On second thought, let them play with the Assembly. What do I care if they rip each other to pieces?"

"Probably for the best, milady. We wouldn't to play our hand too soon."

"Unfortunately I have to agree. Have we decided on our next step?"

Loki nodded. "Yes. A neutral city called Cyrkensia. It should be a small matter to-" He stopped, breaking into a large smile. "My, my, and just to whom do we owe this pleasure?"

"What are you yapping about now?" The woman growled, turning around sharply. Upon seeing their unexpected guest, her eyes narrowed dangerously. "And… you are?"

Naga glared at the two interlopers, her vibrant emerald eyes flashing with anger. "Mind your tongue demon. You are the ones who have trespassed into my world. I allowed the Demifiend passage due to his amnesia and his neutrality, but you bring the blight of war with you. I will not have this country become a battlefield between Law and Chaos. Be gone!"

The sorcerous stared at the manakete as if she couldn't quite decide whether this was the funniest or saddest thing she had ever seen. "Loki, who is this?"

The demon scratched his chin as he thought. "My apologies milady, but I'm not sure. Though by the ears, perhaps some sort of half breed? She does radiate a power similar to that obnoxious Silent Dragon."

"So not a demon?"

"Absolutely not."

"Wonderful. And here I was thinking something interesting had happened." The woman yawned. "Ya, you've caught me in a _merciful_ mood, so I'll give you this one chance to walk away-" She stopped and smirked. "Alright, I can't even say that with a straight face. Any last words before we start? A name perhaps?"

"Neither who nor what I am is relevant." Naga retorted. "This is your final warning. If you do not leave this world, I will make you." Green eddies of power began to gather around her as she spoke. "Leave. Or make your peace."

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA" The white haired woman cackled with laughter. Feeling a shiver of dread crawl up her spine, Naga watched as the demon's ally, Loki backed away from his mistress by a few steps. Eventually the woman seemed to get a hold of herself, wiping away the tears that her laughter had brought to her eyes. "Oh god, that bravado. This is just… absolute perfection. Bravo, bravo! See Loki, this is what I was talking about! An insect that knows her place."

"And that would be?" Naga demanded, her voice dangerously low.

"Entertaining your betters of course." The woman replied, straightening her posture and beginning to remove her cape and letting it fall to the ground. "Keep this up and I might end up sparing you after all. But seriously, who are you? I prefer to know the names of my jesters."

"Yours first demon." Naga's voice carried far more confidence than she felt. There was a sense of menace to this woman that she couldn't quite place and she would be damned before she told this woman anything of value.

"That's hardly fair as I asked first but hey, whatever." The woman gave a mocking, overly accentuated bow. "Just _where are_ my manors. I am Lady Kamui, valedictorian of Nohr's Sorcerer's Academy, recently inducted nobility of that same kingdom, and though I hate to disappoint you, completely authentic human."

Naga scowled. "Impossible. You radiate demonic power to such a degree that I can barely look at you without feeling the urge to throw up. There's no way you could be human."

Kamui giggled. "Ah, that would be this." She pointed to a wing shaped tattoo on her left cheek. "It's called an Atma. Want to see what it does?"

Naga responded with a tsunami of divine breath fired from her outstretched right hand. The torrent of light magic cascaded toward the pair, tearing up the earth as it traveled. The accompanying roar was deafening, rivaling that of the dragon that unleashed the energy. Save the Breath of Naga, the divine dragon's attack was far stronger than any magical tome on the planet.

And Kamui slapped it aside with the back of her left hand.

The white haired sorcerous smirked at the bewildered manakete, her ruby eyes gleaming with menace as she stared down her prey. "Oh? Are we starting? I'm so sorry, I hadn't realized…"

"H-how? W-what are you?" Naga stammered in horror.

"Loki, cancel our dinner plans." Kamui commanded as the tattoo on her cheek began to emit a sickly yellow-green light. "I'm going to partake in some seared meat before we return home."

"Lady Kamui, we don't have any time for-" He sighed in submission as he realized the futility of his request. "At least try be quick about it. Please don't play too long with your food."

By this point Naga had realized that she far out of her depth. Whatever monsters were standing before her easily put her power to shame. It was time to make an exit. She would unleash another burst of divine breath, this time at the ground to stir up dust, and then escape during the confusion. From there, she didn't know what she could do. Perhaps ask Corrin for help? She hated to even consider it but-

The thought came a moment too late as Kamui activated her Atma, transforming and disappearing in the time it took to blink. Faster than even Naga's eye could track, the demonic figure reappeared in front of her, a wicked skeletal claw curving up towards her neck. Desperate Naga fired two blasts of divine breath together in front of her, knocking herself back with the ensuing shockwave.

Or at least that was the plan, but Kamui didn't even flinch in the face of the blast. Instead she turned, her spine curling as the striking claw instead reached out and latched onto the goddess's ankle preventing Naga from escaping.

Cackling once again, Kamui slammed Naga into the ground before lifting her up once more and hurling her across the makeshift arena.

Even with her head ringing and starry spots crowding her vision, Naga forced herself to look up. She finally got a good look at the abomination striding lazily towards her. She was the same height as she had been pre-transformation, but where there had been flawless skin there was now white skeletal outcroppings jutting out from scaled ivory flesh. Translucent gemlike structures ran across the surface of the scales, looking like crimson veins. Her head no longer had any hair, instead sporting a white and red crest that looked like a cross between a headdress and a demon's horns. Her eyes were still the same though, and had lost none of their malice.

Desperate Naga let loose everything she had, a burst of power that could the burn the air itself. Kamui sprinted head first into it, still laughing like a maniac. Looking like a shadow of death the figure emerged from the burst of power, her claws once again at Naga's throat. Diving to her left, the Divine Dragon struck at the ground instead, trying to throwing her footing off.

For a moment it worked and Naga jumped back, buying her a few more meter from this predator.

This was not a fight Naga could win. She knew that now. Whatever an Atma was, it put this woman on par with the strongest of demons. And from what she could tell, this Kamui wasn't even trying yet. Her only hope was flight. It would take half a second to open a portal back to Mount Prism. Once there her power should spike, allowing her to close the portal almost instantly as well as hide her presence. It was a gamble, but she was betting that they would leave rather than spend the time to search for her.

Either that or they would just blow up the entire planet, but there wasn't much she could do to stop that.

"You know; you never did say your name…" The voice was slightly more guttural than it was pre-transformation.

Naga blinked and the figure was in front of her again and she was contemptuously kicked away. As the dragon once again tried to gain her bearing, Kamui snapped her fingers and unleashed a blast of Providence, incinerating the air and earth surrounding the divine dragon.

It was just the break she needed. Light could not hurt her; it was hers to command. What Kamui had intended to use to torture the dragon had instead given her the opening she needed to escape. Hidden in the flash of harsh light, Naga ripped open an escape route and threw herself into it.

Naga's breathing was harsh as she desperately erected her defenses. The escape had lasted all of half a second, but she could still feel her heart beating wildly out of control. She was just considering how lucky she was to still be alive when she felt a skeletal hand grasp onto her ankle.

Kamui pulled her back through the portal and hurled her into the dirt. "Did you honestly think you could escape? I've been fighting demons for years. Years! And not weak, pathetic little scraps of meat like you. I'm talking prime gods and goddesses. Even angels! Trust me, I know how to keep my toys from running away." Her fangs curled into a demented smile. "Do you feel that? The despair clawing at your insides? Oh how I love the way it makes my prey taste."

She could feel it. But there was a small vestige of hope left as well. She had one card left to play, a spell that would take advantage of the one undeniable rule put onto demons by the Great Will.

Demons could not time travel. It was intrinsic. A failsafe laid out by the Great Will itself to prevent them from affecting causality and the cycle of death and rebirth of the Amala multiverse. It was the same reason why there was only one of each of the named demons. If there were two Metatron's for instance their choices could cancel out. If there were two Shin Managi's then it wouldn't matter if one chose to become a True demon or not, it would happen and the entire multiverse would end. In order to ensure that choice mattered for beings of sufficient power, time travel and multiple selves were unquestionably banned. But this limitation did not apply to humans and other weaker beings. In the infinite number of parallel worlds there was an infinite number of parallel versions of Naga. It didn't matter, she was too weak to change fate so the limitation need not apply to her.

But Kamui was undoubtedly on that level, as was Loki. And though it would probably sap her strength for the greater part of three years, it was her only hope.

Naga closed her eyes and began to chant. She had never used the spell before, but Lucina and the other children from the future were living proof that she did have the ability.

"Are you still trying? UGH! Just give up already. There is _nothing_ you can do. Nothing I can't shatter. So just lie down and die. Or maybe you'd rather I turn you into my slave? One little charm spell and you'll be at my beck and call. I'll inevitably get bored with you, but hey, you'd have a few more weeks of life. Can't get much fairer than that."

Half way there, she just needed a few more seconds…

"Lady Kamui, if I might provide some advice."

Another second or two…

"Make it quick Loki, I've just about tired with this filthy little maggot."

The demon smirked. "I just thought you'd want to know; I believe she's about to open a time portal."

"WHAT?!" Kamui thundered incredulously.

Done! Right as the Atma wielder turned on the dragon, unrestrained fury in her eyes, the temporal rift cut through reality, opening a massive eye shaped portal on the ground beneath Naga's feet and sucking her through to a point hopefully beyond harm's reach.

But that didn't stop Kamui from launching a Raging Hellfire at the portal. A titanic barrage of unyielding flame, the sound of which would be heard for well over a hundred leagues. But whether or not it hit the divine dragon remained a mystery as when the smoke cleared, the portal, and the dragon, were completely gone.

Kamui glared at the crater where the portal had closed a moment earlier. She had reverted to her human form and Loki had handed her back her discarded cape. "We need to find her."

"Not necessarily." Loki answered softly. His mistress was dangerous enough when she was in a good mood. Right now she was liable to do something stupid if he made a misstep. "She didn't hear anything critical and she's far too weak to stop us even if she did. Let her escape. Besides, I doubt she survived that last attack of yours."

"But-"

"Milady, we have pressing work to do back in Nohr. So if you want to blow off some steam, why don't you just destroy this world and be done with it." Loki smiled evilly. "But then of course, do be prepared to explain to our master why you attracted such needless attention for something as paltry as stress relief. Especially when we are now in the critical stages of our mission."

The woman said nothing, merely reattaching her cloak before ripping open a portal back to Nohr with a snap of her fingers. Though she would never admit it out loud, Loki was right. This battle had been a disappointment, but there would be more to come. Besides, if all went according to plan, she would soon have a _much_ more entertaining dance partner.

* * *

 **Author's Note-**

 **Sorry for the severe hiatus between uploads. A combination of schoolwork and needing a break took their toll, but I should be uploading fairly regularly again. The time between chapters will probably be closer to the 3-4 week range than 2 though.**

 **Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this! It was a blast to write and I hope you had as much fun with the fight in the end as I did. (Even if it might have been a tad one sided.)**

 **Disclaimer- This is a nonprofit, fan-based work. All characters and settings belong to their respective owners.**

 **Next Time- Corrin and Azura are behind enemy lines while Kaze and Lilith begin their journey as demon tamers.**


	23. Chapter 21: The Retainers Retaliate

It was a beautiful spring day. The sun shined through the branches and leaves that made up the canopy of the forest, casting long shadows across the ground. Birds sang, a fox's tail perked up, and two pairs of eyes scanned their surroundings for any possible clue as to where they were.

"Well," Corrin began, fighting against the gradually increasing distress eating away at his insides, "at least the weather's lovely."

He winced as he saw a flash of concern pass over Azura's face. "Corrin, do you recognize any of this?" She gestured to the surrounding forest with her right hand even while her left hand began to fidget with her hair nervously.

"Trees, sunlight, and a complete lack of death and despair? Well as embarrassing as it is to say, I doubt we're in Nohr." Corrin joked, noting Azura's apparent unease as they looked around. "Can't say I know any more than that for certain though. House arrest and all that garbage. But if you held a sword to my neck, I'd probably say that this is way too verdant for even a border territory."

"So you think we're behind Hoshidan lines?"

Corrin nodded. "That's my guess, ya. But wouldn't you know better than I? You lived in Hoshido for far longer than I did."

"I- I just wanted to hear your opinion to be certain." Azura bit her lip and looked away, refusing to meet Corrin's eyes. For a moment, Corrin considered asking her what was wrong. Then he remembered how Azura had been kidnapped by her own people, how she had been rejected and taken away for execution and the question died in his throat. There really was nothing for him to say, nothing he could say.

Perhaps that's what saved him though. After all, if he had been talking, it was doubtful he would have heard the sound of marching feet before it was too late.

Looking up in alarm, he was relieved to see that Azura had taken notice of the threat as well. Thankfully, any uneasiness she had was eliminated in the face of palpable danger. Her golden eyes were cold and focused as she pointed towards a nearby tree. Corrin shook his head at the princess. Though the tree was reasonably dense, there was no way it would provide enough cover for them, especially for someone with such a vibrant hair color as Azura. Besides, that was one small tree, almost a bush really! Corrin doubted it could fit both of them.

Azura pointed again, getting visibly frustrated as the footsteps got a little bit louder. Eventually she gave up any semblance of subtlety and grabbed Corrin by the front of his armor and dragged him into the dense foliage, the former prince sputtering all the way. "Hey let go!" Corrin whispered as Azura finally relented. "There's no way this is gonna work, let's just make a run for it. Or better yet, I can just fly us out. We'll be halfway home by the time they realize what's happening."

"Silence!" She hissed. "They're going to hear you."

Usually he probably would have been more than a little confused by the vehemence of Azura's response, but Corrin was a bit preoccupied. Instead he decided to simply respond. "Hello Azura, that's kind of my point!"

"Tell me Corrin, can you outfly a Pegasus knight?"

"Probably." Corrin scoffed. "Haven't had the opportunity yet."

"Well how about fifty? That not enough? Maybe a hundred? No, a thousand? I can go higher."

"Uhh… I don't think Pegasi fly faster in groups."

She ignored that. Instead, Azura leaned in close, her golden eyes only a few inches from his own. Corrin couldn't help but notice how cold and emotionless they were. It was like staring into golden pit, and for a moment Corrin felt a sense of dread at the thought of sinking into them. "Corrin. If even a single Hoshidan Onmyoji sees you in your dragon form, you can rest assured that Ryoma will know you're here in less than an hour. And as soon as he knows you're here, I guarantee you everything from Falcon knights to Mechanists to Ninjas will be sent after you. Every single soldier that is not currently engaged." She leaned even closer and whispered the last part directly into his ear. "Tell me, how does it feel to be so loved?"

"That's… that can't be. I'm not that important." Corrin sputtered out helplessly.

Azura laughed softly though there was no humor in the noise. "Oh do you think so? Corrin, tell me, were you at the Hoshidan encampment the night you left? Did you see how Ryoma and the rest reacted? I've never seen him so unhinged."

"No. That's…" Corrin tried to keep his mouth shut. A swirling mass of emotions were rising inside of him. Regret, fear, guilt… irritation? Where was that last one coming from?

"You were the son of the queen, yet you betrayed your country to an enemy power." She whistled softly. "My, my you really have no clue what you did."

Corrin's eye twitched as he gave up on holding back the odd flashes of anger. Why should he be guilty for following his ideals? "Oh, did I step on a few toes? Heaven forbid I piss off the people I'm at war with."

"Family, lineage, honor," She interrupted, ignoring his comment except for a slight raise of her eyebrow, "Hoshidans value these above all else. Your choice to leave them for Nohr not only delegitimized them, but also the entire royal family."

"And what is your point?"

"Corrin?" Azura asked, momentarily taken aback by the newfound edge to his voice.

"What do you want me to do, say I'm sorry? Well, I hate to break it to you, but no, I'm not going to apologize." Corrin spat, all thought of the regiment enclosing upon them forgotten, "I've been doing that ever since I got back. God, ever since I left the Northern Fortress! 'Oh, I'm sorry King Garon, I didn't mean to show mercy.' 'My apologies Kasai, I should have stayed to fight Arete to my last dying breath.' Ryoma, I'm sorry for following my heart rather than betraying the family I grew up with for a bunch of strangers.' Well to Amala with that! Why should I apologize for following my heart?!"

Azura looked at him for a long while as his glare dared her to respond, to argue, to just try and prove him wrong. In the end she just sighed and smiled sadly. "I wondered if you had any doubts about your choice. I envy your strength."

"Azura?" Corrin asked, the anger beginning to fade as it was replaced with confusion. The melancholy of her smile had thrown him off balance.

She shook her head. "Never mind. You are right, no good will come of speaking of the past now. We need to escape. As you mentioned before, this tree is far too small for the both of us."

Corrin nodded slowly, accepting that he probably wasn't going to get any more information from Azura. He hadn't known the princess for long, but he did know that if she wasn't in the mood to talk about it, there was nothing that could be done. He'd met wyverns less stubborn.

As the pair snuck as silently as they could through the underbrush, Corrin couldn't help but feel a little at ease. There was something familiar about this. Sneaking through enemy territory with only a single ally, no sword at his waste, only magic and his wits; this was his way to fight. In addition, that outburst, as weird and out of place as it was, had felt r _ight_. And for some reason or another, his head felt clearer than it had in months.

After fleeing for what felt like the better part of their day, the nigh omnipresent forest opened up into a picturesque glade, complete with a small Hoshidan cottage at the edge, the first rays of sunset shining onto the roof.

Azura glanced at him as if to ask whether they should risk confrontation for the possibility of a place to sleep. Holding up a hand to motion for her to stay hidden, Corrin was about to leave the forest when Azura grabbed his armor. Looking down, he kicked himself when he saw Azura pointing to the Nohrian insignia imprinted onto the ebon armor. Huh, forgot about that.

With a roll of her eyes, Azura gently pushed him back down. Exiting the forest, the princess strolled to the cottage with the presence expected of her position. As she moved, Corrin did as well, hugging the edge of the forest so that he could get as close to house as possible. As he got into position he drew his dragonstone.

Azura knocked on the door. "Hello? Is anyone there?" Another two knocks. "Please, I need help. Is there anyone there?"

Her acting wasn't terrible, on the contrary it was quite good. For a moment Corrin mused on whether or not he would actually be able to tell if she was lying to him. Probably not. He could tell she had been on a stage performing since a very young age.

He watched as she waited in front of the door, noting how she had added a slight tremble to her shoulders even as she made a show of running her hair through her hands. She was the picture of need and worry, and hopefully, that's what the kindly old woman who answered the door saw her as.

After a few minutes of what looked like light conversation, the woman motioned for Azura to come in. And without so much as a sideways glance towards him, she entered.

What the actual hell?

"Azura!" he cried out as he dashed into the house after her, dragonstone in hand and ready to attack at any time. He had just kicked open the door and rounded the corner- when he found Azura and the old woman waiting for him, both of them laughing softly at some unheard joke. It took him about half a second to realize that he was the joke. To his credit, he didn't put the dragonstone away though. Someone had to keep a semblance of caution alive.

"Dear me, you weren't joking when you said he would come running." The old woman said happily as she wiped a tear from a milky white eye, "My that takes me back to my youth. I used to be able to get all the boys in the village to do whatever I wanted with nary a wink. Oh the things I used to make my Junpei do when he was younger…" She chuckled guiltily. "You two make yourselves at home while I go get us some tea."

After he was sure the woman was out of earshot, he turned on Azura, a less than amused expression firmly affixed on his face. "Azura. You have something you'd like to say?" As much as he tried, he could hardly keep the edge out of his voice.

"Hmm? I don't believe so. Why, are you not in the mood for tea?"

"I'm in the mood for some damn caution." Corrin hissed. "How could you possibly just follow her into her house?! She could be a spy, or a demon, or a demon spy!"

"A demon spy?" Azura deadpanned.

"No, no, no. You do not get to turn this on me. My inability to talk right now does not mean you get to win this argument."

She sighed. "Corrin look. I may be a princess, but I think I'm more than capable of defending myself from a little old lady."

Corrin was going to argue that, but then remembered just what Azura had done to the Hoshidan regiment at Fort Dragonfall. Note to self- ask what had pushed Azura to use that Dragon Vein. "Maybe, but what if it had been a demon then? Ose may have been a freaky man leopard, but how can we be sure that there aren't any evil old-lady demons? For all we know there could a second mouth underneath that skirt filled with dozens of gigantic teeth."

"Now you're just being ridiculous." She shook her head. "It's fine Corrin. If she does turn out to be some evil abomination I'm sure we could manage." She graced him with a warm smile. "Besides, even if she was a demon or some other monster, I was sure you'd protect me."

Damn, how could he argue with a response like that? In the end he just decided to move on to the next order of business and hope he wasn't blushing nearly as much as he thought he was. "Okay then. Tea, I guess?"

"Tea." Azura agreed.

* * *

"So you two are on your honeymoon then?" The old woman, Akane, asked.

He snorted. "What of course no-" Corrin began before he was stopped by a sharp kick to his ankle. " _Yes_ ," he said through clenched teeth, "We got married a few weeks back in Izumo. It was a _wonderful_ ceremony. Doves, rose petals, the whole package. Ah, and that night…" He whistled evilly at Azura. "Do I have some stories to tell you-" This time the princess stamped down on his shoeless feet. Ow… That was harsh. Still worth it though.

"What my _husband_ meant, was that after a long day of celebrations, we decided that we couldn't let it all just end." She giggled, in a way so uncharacteristic of how she normally was that Corrin couldn't help but double take. "Sooooo, we decided to take little bitty loan from daddy and go on a tour of the two major kingdoms. Just the two of us."

"Oh how romantic." Akane sighed wistfully.

"Yes. But _unfortunately_ the war put a swift end to that plan. It turns out the nobility doesn't quite care for foreigners. We aren't even Nohrian and our entire escort was put to the sword." Azura faked a sniffle. "Zeke and I were barely able to escape with our lives."

"You poor dears. Don't worry, you two are free to stay the night."

"A-are you sure?"

"Of course darling, don't worry. My late husband was quite the hard worker. He managed to build an entire extra bedroom onto our cottage back when we were thinking of having children. You two are of course free to it."

"I can't thank you enough." Corrin said. "Please, what can I do to help out. There must be some way to repay you."

Akane laughed. "Oh please, the day I need help from some stuffy Izumo noble is the day I curl up and die."

"But you're…"

"Blind? What's your point? I can still clean this house better than you with a hand behind my back." She winked at him. "Though, if you insist on making yourself useful, there's some wood out back you could split as well as some laundry you can take in. Tatiana, dear, would you mind setting the table for dinner?"

"Of course, Akane."

"Excellent," She winked in Corrin's direction, "then we'll meet back here in an hour and I'll show you just how well this blind old woman can cook."

* * *

One enormous meal, several stories, and more than a couple kicks to the shin later, and the two 'newlyweds' were alone in the room Akane had provided. After such a full evening, the small room seemed unnaturally quiet.

"Wow. That woman has the endurance of a wyvern."

"Indeed. And you have the poker face of child." Azura teased.

"Well excuse me for not being as good a liar as you. Speaking of, how in the hell did you manage to come up with all that on the spot? The backstory, the aliases, that was amazing! If I didn't know better, I'd have thought you'd have done this before."

"That was nothing. When you've been in as many plays and performances as I have, that kind of thing comes naturally." She motioned for Corrin to turn around as she began to change into the sleep wear Akane had provided. "Besides, someone had to do something to prevent you from blowing our cover. I know you grew up in a tower, but come now, you were a half second away from telling her everything."

"Says the one who just waltzed right into her home."

"Hmph, are you still up about that? That decision of mine is why we have such a nice place to sleep tonight. If anything you should be thanking me." A tap on the shoulder told him she was done changing. "Speaking of sleeping though, I'll take the bed. Unless you'd like to share of course?"

"Completely unnecessary as we're gonna sleep in shifts anyways. I trusted the food because you helped make it, but I'll be damned if we leave ourselves… so brazenly… defenseless?" Corrin nearly tripped over a nearby chair as his brain finally made sense of what she had said. "W-what? Why would we- What are you-"

"Hmm, so resolute in some matters, yet so easily flustered in others. How curious." Azura said softly. "Well we have quite a long day of travel ahead of us tomorrow, it would be in our best interests to get some sleep." She smiled at him. "Good night Corrin."

Corrin shook his head in a vain attempt to calm the unfamiliar emotions fluttering around in his chest. "Good night Azura. Sleep well."

"You too. Oh and remember…" She winked. "Newlyweds."

"Ya, ya, I've got it. Damn, are you ever gonna stop teasing?"

"Only when it stops being fun."

Corrin groaned as Azura blew out the candle. "Well then, I guess I'm doomed, aren't I?"

* * *

"Thank you. Though I must ask, why?"

The village girl looked down at her feet, her cheeks blazon. "Oh, you know… I just thought… you looked like you could really use the help…" Her voice trailed off as she continued to inspect the ground. And though Kaze would have probably deemed it impossible a moment ago, her cheeks grew even redder.

Not being able to identify a reason for the embarrassment, the ninja judged it better to simply ignore it rather than make matters worse. "Well, thank you again for the apples. They really will help make tonight's dinner much more enjoyable."

"R-really?" The girl looked up, her eyes alight with hope. "You really think they'll help?"

"Of course. My traveling companion and I were only planning on having some bread tonight. Maybe some fish as well if we got lucky. A couple apples will really bring the meal to life."

"Oh, you're traveling with someone." The girl said as her complexion changed almost instantly, there was still some of her former light, but it had almost completely set, leaving her voice a hollow reflection of what it had been an instant before. "Is this person a… girl?"

"Hmm? Yes, my coworker." What an odd question. Maybe she was worried about how capable she was? Understandable, he had had the same worries after all. Hmm, it would probably be best to but those concerns to rest. "Don't worry though, though I've never seen her hunt, she seemed quite confident in her ability. I'm sure she'll get more than enough for the two of us tonight."

"Ah. Just the two of you. That's… perfect." And with that, the girl's face finally finished its plummet into despair. Kaze felt like he must have said something wrong, but for the life of him he still couldn't quite place it. "Well if you're ever by the mill on the main road about a mile outside town…" Her face turned crimson again and she bowed abruptly before running back down the road.

Kaze watched perplexed as she faded out of view. "Odd. I never would have thought this would have happened in Nohr as well." He mumbled to no one in particular.

" **Wow, you might just have the best poker face I've ever seen."**

"Koga?" Kaze asked, jerking his arm up to where he could see it better. He still wasn't used to the disembodied voice coming from his gauntlet. It was just so unnatural. "Thank you? I appreciate the compliment, but I have to say I have no idea what you're talking about."

"…"

"Koga?" First the girl now the demon? Just what was going on here?

" **You are joking, aren't you? Master?"** Koga's voice didn't sound amused anymore, though, nor was it irritated either. It took Kaze a couple seconds to realize that the demon was shocked, almost at a complete lost for words.

"No, of course not." Kaze answered the disembodied voice coming from the gauntlet on his wrist. "It's been like this ever since I was twelve. It was very distressing, so many training exercises blown for no reason. For the longest time I though my father was paying the local village girls off to try and make the training more difficult. But when I finally confronted him about it, he just chuckled and denied it. Saizo acted similarly, minus the chuckle of course. Eventually, I even asked my brothers partner about it, but she only shook her head and walked away."

" **I can't imagine why."** The demon droned. Kaze noted that for some reason he seemed amused again. Weird.

"I don't suppose you know what's going on?" Kaze inquired.

" **Oh master, I wouldn't want to spoil a mystery you've been working to solve for so long."** Even through the gauntlet Koga's voice carried a hint of mirth, giving Kaze a sneaking suspicion that he was being made fun of. **"Besides, a ninja should be more than capable of figuring out a girl's emotions. What would you do if this woman was a target? Would you just give up?"**

"An excellent point." Kaze conceded, turning and beginning to walk back towards their campsite. "Hmm, in an actual mission I'd want to depend on my allies. Then… perhaps I ought to talk to Lilith about it. Yes, it could save me some pain in the long run if she can just solve this puzzle for me now."

" **That- sounds like a truly terrible idea."**

"Why?" He was surprised by the urgency in Koga's voice. "But you just said that I needed to figure this out."

" **Perhaps, but-"**

"And Lilith might be able to solve this puzzle. She is a girl after all. You know, Kagero seemed to know what was going on too. I bet it's something men just can't figure out. I mean, you're a demon so you're obviously an exception to that."

" **I sincerely doubt that."** Koga deadpanned. **"Master, I might have made a mistake here. I think it'd be best if you just forgot about this."**

"Huh? But what about all your teasing? You can't just say all those things and expect me to back off so easily."

" **Master, please, trust me on this. There are some things in this world that are far scarier than any demons."**

Noting that Koga sounded near the end of his patience, Kaze got the sense that prodding any further wouldn't yield results. Well no matter, they'd finally made their way back to the campsite and there was more than enough work for him to do.

Chuckling as he put the apples next to the tent, he replied, "I'm not quite sure what you mean by that, but I suppose I'll have to take your word for it." He sat down and began to fiddle with some sticks in a vain attempt to start a fire. However, it had rained the night before and he was having some trouble with the damp wood. He was just about to cave and use some black powder from one of his smoke bombs when a light on his gauntlet blinked twice, signaling his ally's return. It seemed Lilith had finally managed to get back to camp. "Any luck with the fish?" Kaze called out.

"Yes," her voice radiated out from the other side of the tent, "Vouivre's actually pretty good at fishing. Apparently when she lived among humans, she operated out of a cave of some sorts. In between guarding her treasure from knights, she would fish at the local stream. Anyways, she knew exactly where they would be. She even gave me great advice on how to use my claws."

Kaze smiled as Lilith walked back into camp, taking a spot on the other side of the nonexistent fire. "Claws?"

"Well you don't think I caught them with my bare hands, do you?" Lilith answered as she took out a fish to flay.

"No, I'm just surprised. I've never seen you in your dragon form after all." Kaze responded thoughtfully. "Is it like Corrin's?"

Lilith shook her head sharply. "Not at all, well I mean not anymore rather… I guess a little?" Lilith seemed to get visibly agitated the more she stumbled over her words. "I guess the best way to put it would be-"

"Lilith is a fish!"

Lilith smacked her phone in irritation at Vouivre's outburst. It had become a kind of ritual between them over the past few nights, with Vouivre 'helping' Lilith in conversation and then being 'hit' in return. Not that smacking the phone did anything of course, hell, it affected Tico more than anything else and the digital butler had already offered to turn off Vouivre's ability to speak several times. But the manakete had refused. Not that she didn't constantly threaten Vouivre with it of course.

Kaze grimaced. "So… a fish. Is that why you never use it in combat?"

"Yes, a fish." She sighed as her face set into an irritated scowl. "It used to look like Corrin's form, but before I started working for him I sort of took some time off to eh, straighten things out."

"With the Astral dragons." Kaze guessed, remembering their previous conversation all those weeks ago.

Lilith nodded. "Yep. Eventually, they allowed me to transfer my energy from my Silent stone into an Astral one."

"Any reason for that?"

"Memories mostly." She admitted. "There was a lot of what happened while I was in… eh… 'you know where' that I'm not too keen on thinking about." She looked him in the eye and smiled sadly, like the way Kaze had seen Mikoto smile when she had spoken at his father's funeral. "So, even though I liked the feel of my other form a lot more, I gave it up. It wasn't the smoothest transition, but I genuinely think it was for the best."

"I never knew. You really have been through a lot haven't you?"

"I suppose." Lilith admitted. "But you're not exactly in the best potion either. I mean, what about your family? How do you reconcile betraying your country for, uhh, well, us?" Her eyes widened and she started to wave her hands frantically as she realized just how her statement could be potentially construed. "N-not that I blame you for it! Heck I'm actually glad you decided too. Well not too glad it's just convenient to have you around is all." She stopped, took a deep breath and waited for her emotions to stop simmering. "I'm just a little confused is all."

Several months ago, he would have commented on her being flustered. Then again, several months ago they wouldn't have been having this conversation. Lilith would have just shrugged and eaten her meal in silence, talking to Corrin a bit if anything. But now? Not only were they speaking, but they were talking about times in their lives they weren't that fond of; memories that hurt quite a bit. So he wasn't going to make fun of her for this. Oh no, they had come much too far for that.

"Oh, don't worry about that, I'm sure they'll get by." Kaze said, waving her off with a confidence that he definitely did not feel. "Saizo is Saizo after all. And though my mother can be a bit of a hassle, she knows how to take care of herself. Trust me, they'll be fine as long as no demons come calling."

Lilith didn't seem to buy that but decided to go along with it anyway. "Alright, if you say so. But speaking of which-

"Let me just cut right in." Vouivre interrupted, "As fascinating as ever Lily, but did you really need to censor yourself? I mean it interrupted the flow of the whole thing. L. A. M. E. LAME!"

"What are you even talking about?" Lilith asked sharply. "How did I censor myself? I was just asking him a question? You're not one of those kids who has to swear every time they open their mouth, are you?"

"Hmph, rude! I was just saying that you should just say 'Valla'. Instead of, I don't know, 'you know where' was it?"

They both stiffened. The demon had said the word. The cursed one. This was… That was…

Nothing. Nothing happened.

"W-what?" Lilith asked softly, her gold eyes wide with shock. "How did you?"

"Well, I couldn't say it outside the COMP, but dark and light spells can't reach me unless I'm summoned." Vouivre explained smugly. "A problem, might I remind you, that you don't have to deal with. Or have you two forgotten the rings that Pixie included with your gear upgrades?"

If only he could. Looking down at the strange black and pink ring adorning his finger, like with most things demonic, he got a very unsettling feeling just by looking at it. Almost like it, or something inside of it was staring back at him. It was creepy to say the least, mildly threatening to say the most. At times it even seemed to pulse. "What do they do?"

" **They nullify dark and mind spells of all kinds and power levels."** Koga answered from Kaze's own COMP. **"Incredibly potent magic honestly. You'll never have to worry about a Mudo or a Marin Karen for as long as you're wearing those. No curse or mental attack has a prayer of sticking, no exceptions."**

"And since the Bubble curse is well, _a curse_ , I think ya can guess what else it cancels out." Vouivre finished smugly.

"So you're telling us we can talk about… about…" Lilith stopped, unable to finish.

"Valla." Kaze said finally, throwing weeks of caution to the wind and causing Lilith to squeal in surprise. But that was all that happened. No curse, no bubbles, not death. He was just considering what possibilities this might mean when he was interrupted by an angry dragon.

"Don't do that!" Lilith yelled, reaching over the fire pit to smack him. What if the ring hadn't worked!"

"That's ridiculous the ring has a 100% effectiveness rating." Vouivre pointed out. "Something that _cannot_ be said about your combat prowess."

"Shut up Vouivre." Lilith spat. "I haven't seen you do anything recently."

"UGH tell me about it! I'm soooo bored." Vouivre complained in a voice that somehow encapsulated every spoiled teenager Kaze had ever met. Even Lilith, who had been angry a moment earlier couldn't help but crack a smile at the ridiculousness of her comment.

"So, wait a minute." Kaze began, "If the curse no longer affects us… then we can finally discuss Valla without worrying about it." He looked at Lilith. "You can finally tell us everything we didn't have time to talk about while we were there."

Lilith bit her lip. "Ya… I guess I can, huh?" She shuffled nervously around on her log, clearly uncomfortable. "I'm just not sure if… Perhaps we should wait for-" She shook her head. "I'm sorry Kaze. This is just so sudden; I- Would you mind if we held off for a couple days? I need time to put my story together."

"Kaze waved her worry away, trying not to feel too disappointed. "Of course Lilith, I'm sorry I dropped this on you all at once."

"WIMP!"

[Miss Vouivre!] Tico chastised. [He is no such thing! Sir Kaze just happens to have class. Something you undeniably lack. Speaking of which, would you mind refraining from such nonsense? You are clearly embarrassing our mistress.]

"Hey! I'm just trying to help! Kaze's obviously a bit laid back. And heavens know Lily's not gonna make a move, so we need him to strap a pair on and-"

"VOUIVRE!" Lilith roared before throwing the phone into the fire pit. Luckily, the thing was quite durable, and when she picked up the COMP, there wasn't even a scratch. "How many times do I need to tell you. It is _not_ like that." Her blush deepened when the only answer she received was her demon cackling with laughter.

Wondering what that was about, but deciding it would be best not to intervene in such a weird argument, the ninja finally returned to his fire dilemma. Dinner wasn't about to cook itself, after all. "Lilith, if you have a moment, would you mind getting this?"

"Stupid Vouivre, I don't feel that way. And even if I did, I'd never…" Kaze could hear Lilith mumbling something under her breath before looking up at him like she'd forgotten he'd been there. "Huh? Oh sure, no problem." A short blast of astral breath later, several flayed fish, and the pair was ready to dig in.

"Yum! Where did you get the apples? These are delicious!" Lilith asked happily as she continued to absolutely destroy her meal. It was kind of scary actually. Not for the first time, did Kaze remember that Lilith wasn't entirely human. And if there was one constant in myths about dragons between Nohr and Hoshido, it was their appetites.

"Some local girl gave them to me on my way home." Kaze replied as he took a bite of fish. "Koga and I were actually talking about it right before you got back.

Lilith raised an eyebrow and Kaze remembered Koga's earlier warning. "Wow, what a coincidence. What'd you pay her with."

"Nothing." He shrugged. "She kind of just gave them to me."

"Gave them to you?'

"Yep."

"For free?"

"Uh-huh. Weird don't you think?"

Lilith groaned and went back to her meal. "Koga, tell me you told him."

" **Eh, I wanted to avoid that particular discussion."**

Lilith scoffed. "So you left it for me? Wow. What a gentleman. I guess I shouldn't expect different from a demon."

 **"Well, I had** _ **actually**_ **hoped to avoid this conversation all together."** Koga's voice sounded mildly embarrassed and Kaze had to wonder for what felt like the hundredth time, what he was missing here.

"I bet you had." Lilith rolled her eyes. "Well, no use in leaving the bandage on any longer than it needs to." She breathed in the rest of her food and got up to her feet. "Come on Kaze. Time to go apologize."

"W-what? Why? Now?" A swirling vortex of questions was spiraling though his mind like a tornado. "How is an apology in order? And why do we need to leave this very instant?"

"Because if we stay any longer I'm liable to hit you." She winced. "Also it will be much worse if you arrive after dark. A man like you arriving after dark to apologize for being… Gods that would be awkward. Let's just pray her parents aren't around."

"A man like me? What am I exactly?" Kaze practically yelled as Vouivre started wailing with laughter from the COMP.

"In short an idiot." Lilith muttered. "Now come on! She told you where she lived, didn't she?"

"How could you possibly know that?"

"GODS!"

* * *

"Here, this is should be it." Kaze pronounced as the pair left the path and began to walk towards the wooden door that served as the gate to the small farm house. "Down the main road from town. Matches the description she gave as well."

"Wonderful." Lilith muttered dryly. "Now let's get those over with, shall we?"

"Of course. But I still don't quite know what I'm apologizing for."

Lilith took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "It'll be fine. Just make it quick, and say how you're stupid, and that you're sorry you hurt her feelings, and that you're stupid, and that you really enjoyed the apples. Also apologize for being stupid."

"Anything else?" Kaze demanded. "Or should I apologize for being stupid a fourth time?"

"Hey, do what you want, but remember I want to be on the road to Port Dia as soon as possible. So just, get it over with so we can get to bed and start traveling bright and early. We don't know what Corrin and Azura are going through right now and I'll be damned if we stay here any longer than we have to."

"I'm pretty sure Pixie would have called if there was any trouble." Vouivre's voice came out of the COMP. Though there was an electronic tinge to it, Kaze swore he detected a trace of humor. "There's really no reason we need to hurry _that_ much. After all, the big boss is more than capable of taking care of himself."

"If he were _capable_ , Pixie wouldn't have needed us in the first place." Lilith huffed. "And if by some miracle that is the case, by the first dragons tell me! This armor is way too formfitting for my tastes and I will _not_ wear it any longer than I have to."

"Awww, don't be like that. You look great!" Vouivre said sweetly. And though it was probably a bad idea to say it out loud, Kaze couldn't help but agree. The deep, navy blue of the armor shined like polished lapis lazuli and matched her hair beautifully. In addition, the cloak that had come with it had small crimson embroidery that matched the tiny but tasteful ornamentation on the armor. Color wise, it was similar to what she had worn before, but now there was really no way of mistaking Lilith for a servant. She looked as fine as any of the Hoshidan nobles Kaze had seen at court, better than most if he was telling the truth. And of course, the fact that the armor did help to accentuate a few 'assets' that her dress had kept hidden made more than a bit of a difference as well. Pixie truly had outdone herself with the outfit. Maybe if she ever wanted to quite being a world ending demon she could take up a career as a fashion designer. He should really introduce her to Oboro once this war was over.

"Kaze?"

The ninja quickly chastised himself for getting lost in his own thoughts before turning back to Lilith. "Yes Lilith, did you say something?"

"Just asking if you wanted to go into the house." Lilith claimed, looking at him curiously. "Are you alright? You seem distant."

"Ah, yes. I was just- uh." Kaze felt his face get a little hot, before regaining his composure. "Never mind. Let's just get this over with, shall we?"

"No complaints here. It'll be good to get back on the road… again?" Lilith's eyes widened as Kaze's narrowed. As he had reached out to knock on the old wooden door, the slight brush of his hand had been enough to make the door swing open, revealing a gaping darkness beyond.

Glancing at Lilith in surprise, Kaze turned back to the dark gateway looming in front of him. "I don't suppose its normal to keep your front door unlocked in Nohr?"

"No. Not at all." Lilith said softly as she drew her COMP. "Even this far out from the cities, pretty much everyone locks up tight after sunset for fear of bandits."

"Thought so." Kaze drew one of the daggers Pixie had given him, the one with the fire enchantment, before slowly entered the farm house.

The house was dark, but surprisingly enough, quite clean. As Kaze and Lilith moved through the structure, Lilith's COMP functioned as a torch, shedding some light on their surroundings, even while Kaze stuck to the shadows. If there was anyone there, they would be distracted by Lilith's light, giving the ninja an ample opportunity to strike. Unfortunately, it soon became rapidly apparent that there wasn't anyone there to ambush. In fact, it was clear there hadn't been a struggle of any kind at all. It looked like any other farm house. There were toys on the floor, tools leaning up against a fireplace, and bowels of stew resting on what must've been their kitchen table.

Kaze frowned and approached the latter. Why was there still food here? He wasn't an expert on economics by any stretch of the imagination, but wouldn't these Nohrians hesitate to waste so much food? Everything he had heard was that Nohr was perpetually on the edge of famine. Even for a family that could afford to give away a couple apples, this was a bit much. He reached out and touched the side of one of the bowels. "Still warm." He muttered softly. That was weird. Had they just missed them?

"Kaze over here." Lilith's voice came from the entrance. Backtracking to where she was, Kaze saw that she had holstered her COMP. "I had Tico do a sweep of the upper floor, we're all alone." She explained. Pointing down to five pairs of shoes near the entrance she continued. "It's odd though. Were they in such a hurry that they didn't have time to put their shoes on?"

"Couldn't they have spares?"

Lilith shook her head. "It would be super unusual that a family of farmers would have bothered to get spare shoes made for kids. They'll just grow out of them by the end of the year." Kaze looked down at the shoes, noting that the smaller two pairs were indeed child sized.

"So they left in a hurry. Well that would explain what I found in the kitchen. There's food still on the table, and it's warm."

"This is getting creepy." Vouivre complained from the phone-COMP. "Why would a whole family just up and leave?"

"Can't be bandits, they'd have stripped the place before torching it." Kaze answered grimly.

"Can't be wild animals either." Lilith added. "There'd be blood, lots of it."

"So what do we do?" Kaze asked. "We can't just leave. They could be in serious trouble."

" **Master, if the food is still warm, it can't have been too long since they left, right? How about we chase after them then**?" Koga's voice cut through their discussion like a well-sharpened knife. " **If we move now, the trail will still be hot**."

[Not a bad idea master.] Burroughs said from his gauntlet. [This is increasing unusual. Shall I set it as a new mission?]

"Hold up, not yet." Kaze said quickly, "Koga, we've come across weird situations before. Why the sudden interest in this one?"

 **"Isn't it obvious master? This is highly unusual. People don't just vanish, let only instantaneously. And besides that, can't you feel it? There's something off about the air here. Almost like there's a rhythm to it that I can't place. There's a good chance that this could be something supernatural."** He huffed. **"And even if it isn't, any human forces capable of moving with this level of subtlety will only cause us trouble on our journey. It would be better to eliminate them now and be done with it."**

"OR!" Vouivre interrupted sharply, summoning herself out of the COMP and leaning against Lilith such that she could have been her shadow. "Instead we pack our bags, face south, and run, fly, or hop to Dia as quickly as demonically possible." She tossed her blonde hair to the side with one of her claws. "Really now. Why should we care about some lost villagers? We don't even know them."

 **"I agree that caring about the villagers might be silly."** Koga conceded. **"But what of the cause? You haven't forgotten that the Assembly is in this world in force, have you?"**

"Please, like the Assembly of Nihlo would give two damns about a family of farmers." Vouivre rolled her eyes in a way that was entirely her own. "They're too busy sitting in some stuffy corner thinking of ways to make life boring."

"Maybe," Lilith said slowly, "but Corrin would insist that we help them. Even if they aren't that important. And that's to say nothing of what he'd do if he thought there were demons in the area." The former stable girl sighed and brushed Vouivre off her shoulder before exiting the house. "Kaze, can you track them?"

Noting the faint trail of footprints meandering towards the nearby village, Kaze raised his gauntlet in front of his mouth. "Burroughs, would you mind setting that mission after all?"

[Of course not master. I have set the mission- _Investigate the Missing Farmers._ ]

* * *

It didn't take long to follow the footsteps back to the village. It was like the one they had been in a few days prior but slightly different. The buildings were smaller, more compact, and seemed to be made of cheaper materials. All in all, it was obviously a poorer area, and like the cabin they had recently left, it was completely and utterly devoid of life. One thing remained constant, however, from every house a trail of footprints, sometimes one, sometimes many, trailed off into the night.

Not that they could afford simply assume no one was left. As such, they spent the next several hours searching the various houses that lined what must have been main street. Eventually their search ended in futility and they decided to follow the mysterious trail. It eventually brought them to the town hall where it trailed off into a decrepit wall of granite. It was almost as if whomever had left the prints had simply turned ethereal and walked through the barrier like a ghost.

"So… what now?" Lilith asked, keeping her voice to a whisper in case there were any enemies nearby.

"I don't know." Kaze admitted. "Burroughs, anything?"

[The wall appears to consist of a unique blend of conventional matter indigenous to the area mixed with demonic magic. The latter's presence renders most conventional forms of breaching highly unlikely to succeed.]

A hollow laugh reverberated out from Kaze's COMP, droning Burroughs out. **"That might be the funniest joke I've heard this century. Master, mind if I 'test' that theory?"**

"Be my guest Koga. But please, try and remember…" A pushed button, a flash of light, and a demonic titan came forth from the ether. "We are trying to be stealthy here."

 **"Stealthy? Of course Master**." Koga Saburo brought back his left hand, sword clenched, as a whirlwind of emerald energy began to gather around his fist. **"I promise Master, there won't be a single flash of light…"**

"Light isn't really the prob-" Lilith and Kaze barely had enough time to cover their ears before the resulting explosion of force magic turned the wall, the passageway behind it, and the building it was attached to dust in the wind.

 **"Highly unlikely to succeed huh? Riiiight."** Koga said smugly as he twirled one of his blades. **"You're losing your touch AI."**

[When I said conventional methods were unlikely to succeed, I was referring to things ordinary humans could do. There was never a doubt that a Zandyne from a high level demon would break it down. Perhaps I ought to schedule a mission that would help your listening skills?]

"That's enough you two." Kaze said as he made his way through the rubble. Looking over the broken shards of rock, the ninja noticed an area where the rocks appeared to be lower than the surrounding earth, almost as if they had fallen further. "Koga, can you vaporize the stones around where I'm standing?"

 **"Is that even a question?"** The demon asked as he fired a Ziodyne where Kaze was pointing. The brilliant yellow bolt collided with the rocks in a ball of plasma, leaving only the deep inky blackness of a tunnel behind.

"Well it's about time we struck pay dirt!" Vouivre piped in as Lilith summoned her from the phone COMP. "Seriously, I was startin to get worried it'd be forever until we got some action."

"Tico, can you get any readings of demonic activity down there?"

"My apologies milady. The magic from the recently diseased door is scrambling my ability to scan for the enemy. I'm afraid you'll be going in blind."

"Figures." Lilith muttered. "Alright then, we're not gonna get anything done by waiting here. Kaze?"

The ninja nodded and as silently as shadows, the pair of humans and their demonic counterparts slipped into the gaping maw of the tunnel.

It wasn't long before the pair came across their next obstacle. What had begun as a fairly straightforward path had culminated into the tunnel splitting into four separate paths. Rolling his eyes at this development, Kaze suggested they split up, with Lilith taking the left most tunnel while he took the right. A week ago he would have been worried about navigating underground alone, but with Burroughs and Tico actively mapping their progress as they went, there was really nothing to worry about. Nothing but potential demons anyways.

Speaking of which, where were they? It was obvious at this point that the tunnel wasn't Nohrian in origin. The walls looked as though they had been dug out of the earth via some type of claws, and that was without even mentioning the hovering orbs of ethereal flame that served as a light source. They hung every ten feet or so, casting an eerie and unnatural emerald light down the length of the passage. Despite Koga's reassuring presence, Kaze could barely hold back the shiver climbing up his spine.

The flickering of the flame started to play tricks on him. Each and every shadow at the edge of his vision held an enemy; every rock a monster. He had just about thrown one of his knives at a pebble, one of the enchanted ones no less, when Koga finally stepped in.

 **"Master, please calm yourself. There's nothing here. Not yet anyways."**

"W-what? How did you?"

The demon chuckled. **"Master please. You're hardly the first human I've seen terrified."**

"Terrified? Not just scared?"

 **"Oh yes. You're practically trembling, and look at those knuckles of yours. There as white as bone. If you hold that knife any tighter I'm sure it'll break, enchantment or not. I'm also fairly certain that pebble means you no harm."**

The ninja immediately slackened his grip and backed away from the offending rock. "Thanks. What's wrong with me? I've trained in the shadows my entire life. I've fought demons in the day and night. I'm not afraid to die, let alone fight. So why do I feel like this now?"

 **"Well for one, while it's true you've used the darkness your entire life, you're not** _ **of**_ **it. Not like some demons are at any rate. Instinctively, you know this, and it terrifies you to your core. That fear lives in the deepest crucible of what it means to be human. It's part of who you are as a species. Do you really think a decade or so of training would be enough to upend that?"**

Kaze grimaced. "No, I don't suppose it would. But that's awful. This nervousness will give us away nine times out of ten. We'll be dead in seconds."

 **"On the contrary, that nervousness has kept humanity alive for a good eternity."** Koga said dryly. **"But I'm getting off track. The darkness is a part of it, yes, but that's not the main issue. Yes, you've fought demons. Yes, you've fought in the dark. But this is the first time you've ever gone hunting demons, isn't it?"**

"Well, I suppose so."

 **"There.** _ **That's**_ **the real issue."** If Koga had a mouth, Kaze would have bet more money than he had it would have been set in a feral sneer. **"Hunting demons is not so easy as fighting them. You are actively seeking out every type of creature your kind has whispered horrors of around a campfire. Every time you've looked at a shadow or jumped at a noise, it's been demons you've thought of. We are in your head. We are primal. We are intrinsic fear. And now, not only are you exploring their territory, but you're looking for those creatures whose very existence is to prey upon your kind, to devour your souls and leave your corpses to wallow away in filth. To move against us, to search us out, goes against everything that you are. It will take more than a week for your soul to overcome the weakness of your flesh."** It rested a hand on his shoulder. **"But don't worry master. That day will come. I can see the steel already in your eyes. Soon it will be like the knife you hold; sharp, unbreakable, eternal. Trust me, in time you will not break so easily."**

"Thank you, I guess." Kaze shook his head. That speech, though encouraging, had not done much to raise his spirits in the short term. "So, there's nothing I can do about it now?"

" **Remember that you are the hunter. Not them. The time for running ended the moment you put on that COMP."** Koga said solemnly. **"And also remember, you have me here. Backing you every step of your journey. My sword is yours to command, Master."**

"Thank you Koga. Hmm, wait what is this?" As Kaze had been attempting to dispel the nervousness from his mind, his eyes had picked up on a slight discoloration in the soil beneath his feet. Though the emerald light of the fire distorted its visage, he could tell it wasn't any normal type of powder. "Some kind of ore perhaps?"

" **So you think this might be a mine?"**

"It would explain the need for tunnels."

" **Perhaps. But Master, demons don't need ore. Our weapons are forged from our legends. No self-respecting demon would ever stoop to forging a-"** The demon reached down to touch the powder only to recoil from it if burned. Koga let out a hiss as he backed away. **"** _ **Magnetite**_ **. Well that answers one question. Too bad I now I have a million more to replace it."**

"Magnetite?" Kaze asked confused.

[A biologically based substance originating from humans. Its primary use is in the facilitation of corporeal bodies for naturally incorporeal beings.]

" **It's what demons are made out of**." Koga translated. **"That COMP of yours has a link to an external reservoir of the stuff."**

"Ah. So you can't take physical form without it." Kaze said, understanding dawning.

Koga nodded. **"Right. Demons are** _ **made**_ **of this stuff. With enough of it, you could give form to some of the most powerful demons in existence. Without it, you won't summon anything at all. But…"** Kaze could tell from his posture that Koga was in a truly dangerous mood. _**"Why is it here?!"**_

"Is it really so surprising?" Kaze asked, taken aback by his demon's vehemence. "We're hunting an organization of demons after all. Why wouldn't they mine a substance that can swell their ranks?"

" **Why they would want it makes sense. But…"**

[Magnetite is usually only found inside of live humans or recently defeated demons. It's not something you should be able to mine.] burroughsexplained. [Harvest yes, but it's not a mineral that can be found in the earth.]

" **What the AI said. The fact that it's here now is disturbing to say the least. If the Assembly found a way to mine Magnetite directly from the earth…"**

"They'll summon an army." Kaze finished grimly. "Boroughs, is it safe to take a sample?"

[Yes Master.]

"Then we'll analyze it later." Kaze said as he scooped up the substance. "For now we rendezvous with Lilith and get out before we're noticed."

" **Master, I must object…"**

"Koga, I understand you wish to fight. But if we can get out without being noticed we'll have critical intel and the element of surprise." Kaze sighed. "Besides, if we overextend now and die, there'll be no one left to warn Corrin-" Three pings from his COMP interrupted him.

[Actually, it appears the choice has been taken away from us. There are three demonic signals closing fast.]

" **Looks like we'll be fighting after all."** Koga said, sounding annoyingly satisfied. **"Any idea what they are?"**

[Demons unknown. My analysis feature is still down. My apologies Master.]

" **Wonderful."** Koga muttered. **"Master, your orders?"**

"I-" It took him a moment. All his fears from before came back in a rush. And then like a recently doused flame, they disappeared in the face of all the anger, all the resentment, all the powerlessness that had haunted him since Ose had first killed his Queen.

It was time to fight back.

"The ceiling, prepare for an ambush." Kaze commanded, already moving. Using his daggers as a climbing aid Kaze climbed the tunnel wall in an instant, fading into the shadows of the low dark ceiling. The fiery torches served only to help him as it painted everything the same green as his armor.

For a moment, the ninja wondered how long it would take for the enemy to appear. But as it was, fate did not keep him waiting for long. Three monstrous, star shaped beings, each about five feet in diameter with a demented, pale face centered on their black and purple bodies floated just above the ground, rapidly rushing down the passage towards their position.

"What the hell is Berith thinking? Fighting some girl right outside of the harvester… Sounded like he was getting his ass kicked too."

"Quiet!" The second star swore. "He'll be punished later. For now, just worry about the demon she had with her. If the harvester goes down, Vanderheim'll have our hides!"

So, Lilith had been found. Damn. Though it sounded like she was doing fine at least. But still, there was no time to wait. As the star shaped demons passed below him, Kaze pushed off from the ceiling.

Pixie had given Kaze four gifts. The first was his COMP, pretty self-explanatory. The second was a set of pristine black and emerald armor, nicer than anything he had ever seen in either Nohr or Hoshido. The third was the ring that negated mental and darkness based attacks, and the last was a set of twin daggers, one with a fire enchantment and the other an ice infusion. And though they may have looked like simple blades when not in use, they were a sight to behold in combat. It was the last gift that he used now, rushing down onto his victim, his two knives flaring to life with pale blue and crimson light.

The poor demon didn't even see it coming. Kaze tried not to enjoy its scream too much, instead focusing on turning his dive into roll, redirecting the force and using it to propel himself to the wall. There he promptly flipped again before pushing off and striking the demon a second, a third, a fourth time, opening up that hideous face just a little more with each run, the daggers turning the tunnel into a sea of blue and red light.

"W-what?" The demon behind him stuttered in shock as its ally finally had the decency to crumble to dust. "What the hell?!" As Kaze crouched back into a ready position, Koga finally dropped down as well, his twin swords piercing its hide in single flash of silver.

" **Hello Kaiwan."** Koga gloated, turning to the one remaining Assembly demon. **"Wonderful night, ain't it?"**

"Koga Saburo? What are you doing here?! Oh. Oh no. Oh nonononono- Don't tell me Ose was-"

 **"Telling the truth? Fraid so."** The golden titan began to stalk towards the final Kaiwan as it cowered before it.

"Koga, stand down."

 **"Master?"** Koga asked in surprise.

Kaze watched as Kaiwan turned and began to fly as fast as possible, probably thinking it could escape while they were talking. That was cute. "This one's mine."

With that Kaze broke out into a run, sprinting after the demon. Though he hadn't given the order, he could hear Koga's footsteps in close pursuit. That was good. Who knew if Kaiwan had anything up its, ehm, nonexistent sleeve. In hindsight, taking this approach hadn't been the smartest thing to do. But he couldn't help himself. This was vengeance, plain and simple. And he was not about to be denied, even by his own subordinate.

Seeing that its pursuers were getting steadily closer, Kaiwan gave up on escape and turned on the ninja, moving startlingly quick for something so large and unseemly. Letting out a spine chilling screech, a blast of black energy crackled beneath Kaze's feet before exploding like a geyser of tar., clinging to his armor and skin like glue. He heard Koga cry out in what might have been alarm as the star shaped demon howled with laughter. "What's wrong human? Never seen a Mudo before? Fool. I get Koga'll still kill me, but at least you're gonna die too!"

Mudo… through the encroaching blackness he realized he had heard that word before. Wait, now he remembered; it was a type of dark magic. Koga had mentioned it when explaining about- The instant he realized what it was he knew what was going to happen a moment before it did. Lowering his stance, Kaze pushed off the ground the moment his ring dispelled the death spell, leaving Koga laughing and Kaiwan sputtering in horror.

But there was no time to bask in his enemy's despair. Instead Kaze moved like lightning at the demon, jumping at the last moment and digging his right knife into one of Kaiwan's spikes. Ignoring the ring of sparks, Kaze swung upwards pulling his knife out from the demon and soaring towards the ceiling where he pushed off again, this time brandishing both of his knives. Fire and ice circled around him in cyclone of magical wrath as he cut his way through the demon on his way back down to earth.

Unlike his first kill, this one didn't need a second pass.

Koga nodded his approval as the final Kaiwan crumbled to dust. **"Feeling better now?"**

"Yes, much." Kaze answered. "That fear from earlier. It's not all gone. But I can barely sense it. Gods, I feel as though a weight has been lifted. It's like-"

 **"Like your eyes opened?"**

"Kind of. But it's more like I'm completed focused. Like I know what I need to do and how to do it." He shook his head. "But enough of that for now. You heard what they said, Lilith is in trouble."

 **"Maybe. She's been discovered sure. But they were all going to** _ **help**_ **fight her. Sounds to me like she's handling herself pretty well."** Koga glanced around at where the Kaiwans had been minutes earlier. **"Much like yourself."**

Kaze nodded. "Nevertheless, we've been discovered. Let's find Lilith and get out before they send someone powerful. Burroughs, can you set a course to Lilith?"

[Of course Master. By the way, you're ready to initiate my Demonic Whisper ability when you have the time.]

"Demonic Whisper?" Kaze asked as a worrying boom resonated from down the hallway. "What was that?"

 **"Heh, heh. Sounds like we're gonna have some fun."** Koga chuckled. **"But let's try and keep our heads in the game, shall we? I'll explain the whole Demonic Whisper thing when we're out of this mess."** Koga paused for a moment. **"By the way… there are probably more demons between us and Lilith. You sure you can handle this?"**

"Handle this?" Kaze smiled as the pair broke out into a sprint towards Lilith's beacon. "I'll do my best to make sure you don't get too bored Koga, but if I'm being honest, there might not be too much for you to do."

 **"Oh ho. It almost sounds like you think you're gonna kill them all before me."** Koga laughed. **"Damn Master. You know, I could get used to this partnership of ours."**

* * *

-10 Minutes Earlier-

Lilith was unnerved. Not because of the lights, though they were indeed creepy. Neither was it because of the demon hovering at her shoulder. Oh no, Vouivre might have looked a little weird but she was much nicer than Lilith would ever admit out loud.

What she found unnerving were the fifty or so villagers all seated in some metal _thing_ that was- oh gods above, she wanted to barf just thinking about it. They were… no. The moment she admitted that what she was seeing was true was the moment she would scream and that would mean certain death.

"Lily…" Vouivre whispered. "They're coming out the other side."

One glance told Lilith that she was right. The villagers, heads shaved after their 'surgery' walked out of the back of the machine. But it wasn't a normal stride. It was mechanical, almost as though they were puppets. Every step was uniform, in sync with everyone else's. They- they weren't people anymore. They couldn't be.

"What is this- this thing?" Lilith whispered, barely trusting herself to speak. "Why are they all just letting this machine do this to them?!"

"They aren't thinking straight. Something must be controlling them. Normally it wouldn't be forever but… Whelp, by the time the process is over there's no going back. There's no free will left in em."

For the second time that day, Lilith silently thanked Pixie for the ring on her left hand that blacked all forms of mental attack. "But why? I can see them picking up pickaxes, but there must be a better reason to do this to them than just permanent mind control. There has to be another thing they want."

"You're probably right." Vouivre agreed. "Maybe there's something on the other side of the machine?"

Lilith really didn't want to go anywhere closer to that thing. Strike that; she really, REALLY didn't want to. But if meant getting information they could use to stop this thing from ever happening ever again… well she would just have to deal with it.

Moving as silently as she could, Lilith edged herself around the chamber, careful to stay out of sight from any of the drone-like people who now toiled at the edges, harvesting some type of ore from the tunnel walls.

Eventually she made her way around completely and immediately wished she hadn't. There was a demon standing there. It looked almost human, but there was no mistaking that presence. Wearing teal armor and astride a blood red horse it held a long, wicked spear in its right hand, ready to pierce anything that dared reveal itself. Lilith slipped back behind an ore cart before the demon could find her and signaled for Vouivre to do the same.

"Oh crap!" Vouivre squealed. "Well, that's a problem."

"Bit of an understatement, don't you think?"

"Ya. I guess. But still, how're we gonna deal with this?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?!" Vouivre asked in exasperation. "Lily, if we sit here, he's gonna find us eventually! So let's either beat him up or get out of here!"

"Then shut up and let me think!" Lilith hissed and turned back to the demon on the horse. This time she noticed he wasn't just overseeing the humans in the machine. He was also inspecting a crate connected to it. From where she was crouched she couldn't quite make out what was inside, but it seemed to be giving off some type of red glow. "Vouivre, the machine is making something."

"Making something? Are you sure?"

"I- I think. I'd have to get closer to be certain."

"Hmm… In that case, you get ready, I'll give you a distraction."

"Vouivre, be careful!" Lilith said quickly, but it was too late, the demon had already left.

A moment later there was a sudden crack followed by a torrent of rocks and dirt over where the former-townspeople had been mining the ore. Lilith guessed Vouivre must have used her lightning to trigger a minor cave in. Sensing the disturbance, the knight galloped at full speed to investigate, leaving his prize completed unguarded. Not wanting to waste this chance, Lilith stole over to the crate.

Inside were hundreds of tiny red spheres. They almost looked like the small candies she had seen in the shop windows of the Hoshidan capitol. Unlike normal candies though, these glowed with a faint ruby light. It almost seemed like it was pulsating, like it was alive somehow.

Forcing herself to look away, Lilith snapped a photo with her COMP. "Tico, do you have any idea what these things are?"

[Not currently, milady. I'm ashamed to say Lady Burroughs is far more effective at analyzing such things. I suggest you take a sample for her to examine and then make haste back to Sir Kaze.]

"Are you sure it's safe?"

[Not entirely. But given your gear, it is highly unlikely it would be able to leave any lasting harm.]

"If you say so." Lilith said, pocketing one of the spheres. "Okay then, lets rendezvous with Vouivre and then get back to Kaze."

"Sounds good to me." Vouivre said, appearing at her mistress's side. "That probably won't keep that loser occupied for long. I don't think he really cared about those people."

"Then they're dead?" Lilith asked quietly, already knowing the answer.

Vouivre disappeared into a shower of green light as she returned to the COMP. "I'm sorry Lily, but they were dead the moment they walked out of that machine. At this point I was putting them out of their misery."

"Ya… You're probably right." Lilith said softly as she began to sneak back to the entrance. They had made it about fifty feet when she heard the telltale sound of galloping. Trusting her instincts, she dove to the side even as the lance skewered the space she had been a moment prior.

"So a rat darest intrude upon mine master's domain." The demonic knight said in a cold aristocratic voice. Now that she had a closer look, Lilith could see two flaming orbs in place of eyes hovering on the other side of his visor, each of them alight with fury. "And to think, one of these serfs was able to resist mine lady's song. Such arrogance! To put thine needs above the world's… I will see you punished for-" The demon's glare focused on the COMP at Lilith side. "Well, what do we have here… a young demon tamer is it? I suppose that explains how thou art able to resist our song. How pleased my lord will be when I bring you to him."

"Like hell you will!" Lilith declared, triggering the COMP and unleashing Vouivre on the beast.

The demon's horse reared up on its hind legs as Vouivre shot forth like an arrow, diving underneath his spear and peppering him with lightning. As the knight furiously tried to impale her on his spear, Vouivre dove yet again, her body twisting like a snake around the weapon as she swept at him with her claws. Unfortunately, the demon's armor was thicker than she had anticipated and the blow didn't leave any lasting damage.

Lilith started towards the fight, only for Tico's voice to pierce its way into her skull. [Milady, I am booting up the Skill Crack application now, please make your selection.]

"Tico, we're in the middle of- Skill Crack, what are you-" Lilith was cut off by lines of text flashed across the COMP's screen. "Heat Wave, Maragi, Hellfire, what are these?"

[Milady, just pick one and I'll explain later. Vouivre needs your help!]

"One glance up told Lilith he was right, Vouivre was still fighting but in the seconds since she's last looked, the enemy had managed to land two glancing blows to her right arm and sternum and as a result was significantly slower than before. Her movements were less crisp, her attacks less precise. She wouldn't last like this; it was only a matter of time before the knight got lucky.

Tapping the first option on the screen, Lilith called out to Vouivre. "Get back into the tunnel! It'll limit his movement!" As the demon turned towards the voice, Lilith force fed it a burst of Astral breath, the almighty energy singing his armor black and knocking him away from her friend.

Flapping her wings a little slower than usual, Vouivre returned to Lilith's side as the two sprinted towards the narrow part of the tunnel network. "Thanks… almost… ate it there."

"Don't worry about it." Lilith answered, swiftly using her powers to heal some of Vouivre's wounds as they ran away from the demon. "But why isn't he following us? He almost had us."

"Who said I wasn't following you?" A voice called out from behind them. Not wasting a moment, Vouivre grabbed Lilith and flew the two of them at the ceiling, barely getting out of the way in time but knocking the wind out of the young manakete. As Lilith struggled to catch her breath, Vouivre fired another Zionga at the knight.

As he took the lightning to the back, the demon let out a sharp and satisfying scream. Turning his steed around, the demon glowered at them. "A narrow passage is a double edged blade my dear. True you managed to get that hit in. It's true; I have less room to maneuver. But you too have less room to dodge as well. Tell me, who do _you_ think will be more limited by this arrangement?"

Lilith didn't answer, instead choosing to glare at the demon in defiance.

"There is a fire in you, I will give you that. Thou could very well cause us trouble in future should I allow it." The knight began to charge. "But it will not come to that. SO SAYETH BERITH, KNIGHT OF THE ASSEMBLY OF NIHLO!"

This time the demon did not merely charge though. This time, it launched a barrage of fire, melting the ceiling to slag before swinging his spear. The weapon flared with an orange light, before emitting a shockwave that caught the newly formed magma in the air, turning it into a torrent of molten shrapnel.

Instinctually, Lilith fired another breath attack to intercept, but it wasn't enough. Not nearly enough. The lava she missed hit her right leg, causing her to scream as it the heat, failing to melt her armor, resolved merely to burn her through it. Vouivre, hearing her cry tried to get to her, only for Berith to pierce her with his spear. By some miracle she had managed to twist herself at the last millisecond to avoid a fatal blow, but the attack had still crippled her. Realizing the battle was one, Berith tossed her aside like a piece of trash.

"No…" Vouivre whispered. "Lily… run."

Lilith surveyed the scene in horror. This was familiar. She was going to lose, again. Again and again and again, she always seemed to end up losing. At first it had been to Anankos's spirit and those four interlopers from Ylisse. Then it had been Arete and her Vallite guard. Then Ose, then Fort Dragonfall, then Ose again, there was no end to it. Why was her entire life just losing! She would have been ready to give up on it all if it hadn't been for those around her. Corrin, Kaze, Vouivre, Pixie, they were all depending on her now. She wasn't in this alone, not anymore. They had put their faith in her and she couldn't let that mean nothing! There had to be some way to win. There just had to be!

" **There's no way you can win. You're just another pest. An insect who lives merely to serve my eminence. My majesty. So be a good little girl and kneel before your god."**

The memory of her father's voice was what finally broke her free of her trance. Growling with all the anguish that she had felt ever since that sick, twisted creature brought her into this world, Lilith focused everything she had into her Astral Breath. Focusing all of her power, all of her rage and hurt into a single attack. She probably wouldn't be able to move afterwards, but at this point she didn't care.

It was like a star had decided to go nova inside of the cave, the light was so bright. It was a brilliant, deep blue, the kind of which the Hoshidan summer sky could only wish it was. At first she was surprised, even at her best she had never been capable of something like this. Then she saw Vouivre grasping her ankle, feeding her power even while Tico was doing his best to modify her spiritual wavelength to maximize damage. She had been right. She wasn't alone anymore. And this team was doing everything they could to help her.

Then she saw it.

In the midst of the light, Lilith saw an orange pinprick begin to expand, growing larger and larger until it was as big as her, then it grew larger still. Then, with cataclysmic roar, the blast of Hellfire crumpled Lilith's breath attack like a paper doll, slamming her into the wall behind her with a sickening thud. Vouivre barely had enough time to get between Lilith and the flame, ignoring her own pain so she could activate her Null Fire ability the instant before Berith's attack would have scorched her to ashes.

As she slumped off the wall, Lilith tried not to focus on the sharp throbbing pain that had consumed her body. Instead she grabbed the nearest portion of the wall, now smooth from all of the energy attacks, and forced herself to her feet. This wasn't over yet. Not while she could still stand!

She had just finished telling that to her knife like pain when she heard something entirely unexpected.

"N… eed. Help." Lilith was surprised to hear the words coming from her enemy. "Th-is is Berith. At… Harvester. Girl. Demon tamer. Send… aid. Hurry."

It was then she realized; the fire attack hadn't been his triumphant victory, quite the opposite. It had been a last desperate attempt to vanquish his enemy before he had been overwhelmed. Even now, his once shining armor, was a mosaic of cracks, dents, and holes. Parts of it were melted to slag. His horse was simply gone, erased by Lilith, Vouivre, and Tico's combined wrath. He was simply no longer the demon he had been, just a barely functioning pile of metal scraps.

[Lady Lilith, hurry! Finish him off!] Tico urged. [We have to activate Skill Crack before more enemies come!]

"Tico's right, quick while you have the chance." Vouivre agreed, limping over and patting Lilith on the back. "Normally I'd be a little irritated that I don't get land the final blow, but for you Lily, I'll make an exception if you heal me. Now come on, do it. _Quickly_."

Lilith held up a hand towards Berith. She felt almost empty. That last attack had used up most of her strength, she was as tired as she would have been after marching all day, and that was with saying nothing about her battle damage. But they were right, this needed to end. Now.

What remained of Berith's body disintegrated in the face of the blue light, leaving Lilith, Vouivre, and Tico alone once more. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Lilith head a voice softly mutter the words 'Skill Cracked.'

[Well done milady! Truly excellent work.] Tico chirped happily. [Superb, simply superb! Now shall I equip the Heat Wave attack for you? I see no reason why not as you have no other skills currently equipped, but it is a butler's place to ask all the same. We can't have me being presumptions, now can we?]

"Heat Wave? This again?" Lilith asked between gasping for air. Damn her head really hurt. "You never did explain that."

"Yes, equip it." Vouivre interrupted, giving Lilith a glance that clearly said, 'Talk later, escape now.' "We'll go over all the intricacies of how to use the Skill Crack feature after we get back to the surface. _Even though that should have been the first thing we spoke about._ " The last part was mumbled as Vouivre glared at the COMP.

[It's not my fault! Miss Pixie told me not to overwhelm her!]

"Just cause Pixie told you to baby Shin's sister does _not_ mean you hold out on me!"

[Don't you mean Lady Lilith?]

"Did I stutter?"

"Both of you, quiet." Lilith commanded. She could hear what sounded like footsteps coming from down the tunnel in the direction they'd been running away from. Reinforcements were coming. "Tico equip it as we run."

[Understood. Three, two, one, and equipped.]

Lilith wasn't sure what she had been expecting, but it sure as heck wasn't the influx of knowledge from the COMP into her head that she experienced. Training and experiences she had never participated in flooded her consciousness, merging with her sense of being without her permission. And though it felt like an eternity, it was over in an instant. Before she could think twice, a crimson blade of energy sprung to life in her hand, and in a moment of panic, she slammed it against the wall, causing the blade to send out a shockwave of orange light and concussive force.

As the shockwave cascaded into the already unstable tunnel, Vouivre wolf whistled. "In hindsight, we _probably_ shoulda remembered Lily is also a Manakete." Vouivre observed. "If her brother, who was an arch demon with 3000 years' combat experience can't control the two types of magic at once, they probably don't play all that nicely together. Tico unequip the skill before she hurts her-"

"No."

"Huh?"

"No," Lilith repeated, breathing heavily, "I can do this." With a nigh herculean effort Lilith forced the blade back down, back into her mind where it had come, all the while focusing on keeping the screaming manakete part of her brain from going haywire. It was like hauling a cart through mud in the dead of winter, but somehow she was able to do it, sheathing the blade in her subconscious. In the moment before it was completely gone, it throbbed a single time. In that moment, somehow she knew that it would come back to her if she called it. It was hers now. A part of her whether she liked it or not. With her job complete, she flashed Vouivre a small, yet satisfied smile. "See, I told you."

Vouivre was flabbergasted. "I- I- just wow. I mean… I _never_ doubted you Lily. Okay, maybe I did a little… Okay a lot. But I am SUPER happy you were able to do it! And though, you _might_ need some practice in the future. Wouldn't want to accidentally bring the house down. Speaking of which…" It was just now that Lilith noticed the crackling noise hadn't stopped when she had put the sword away. "Can we finally leave this terrible place?"

The first piece of the tunnel had just fallen when they broke out into a run for the exit. The second came soon after. The third and fourth and fifth blended together as the cave in turned from problematic to deadly. Not wasting any time, Lilith and Vouivre moved as fast as they while injured, Lilith sparing what little power she had left to heal the more egregious wounds. For a moment, Lilith wondered how they would be able to warn Kaze about the collapse in time, but almost immediately after the thought had crossed her mind, they practically ran right into the emerald ninja and his demon.

"Lilith, are you alright? We heard that you fought a demon and-" Kaze began only for Lilith cut him off midsentence, grab him by the arm and forcefully drag him back the way he had come.

"Tunnel collapsing, no time to talk!" Vouivre piped in as she blasted a rock that had been about to fall on them.

Taking them at their word, Kaze and Koga refrained from any more talking as the group made their way to the exit as fast as possible. Even with their demons help, they only barely made it in time, throwing themselves out of the gateway as it crumbled down around them.

For a moment there was silence. Then a titanic roar as the ground in the town seemed to shift downward two feet seemingly all at once, taking most, if not all, the town buildings with it. Then, all was silent again.

"Is… is it over?" Lilith asked to no particular.

"That depends." Kaze answered. "Koga, can we be sure that the entire tunnel is buried?"

 **"No Master, I don't think we can."**

"Change that."

 **"With pleasure."** Koga replied, blasting the remnants of the gate with a Zandyne leagues stronger than the one he had used before. There was nothing stealthy or restrained about this attack. There was a colossal roar several magnitudes worse than the one moments earlier as the rippling force collapsed the ground all throughout the town another ten feet. When the smoke finally cleared, what had once been a town had been reduced to a quarry of rubble, with two humans sitting on a singular island of safety. **"There. Now it's finished."**

"Subtle." Vouivre remarked dryly.

 **"Well at least I chose to destroy it. I didn't bring the tunnel down by accident."**

"Hey! Not fair! Lily still isn't used to Skill Crack!"

"Quiet, both of you!" Lilith cut in sharply. Turning to Kaze her tone softened considerably. "Are you alright?"

He nodded. "Yea. We faced off with a couple demons, but it was nothing we couldn't handle. Besides," Kaze held up a pouch of what Lilith recognized as the ore the villagers had been mining. "We found some interesting stuff. Koga says it's called Magnetite. It's used to summon demons and give them physical form."

Lilith took the bag and looked at it carefully. After a moment, she felt her stomach lurch. "And they can make demons with this?! Kaze, I saw them actually mining it. They had cart loads of this stuff! And that was just in the room I saw. If they can use it to summon more demons…"

"I know." Kaze said. "Trust me I know." He glanced around at the rubble. "Though, it looks like we won't have to worry about that for a while." His expression darkened. I don't suppose you ever did find the villagers, huh? They were the reason we originally set off on this little escapade of ours."

Lilith looking away in shame told Kaze all he needed to know. Sighing, he rested a hand on her shoulder. "I know this must hurt, trust me I feel the same way but-"

"NO! I mean no, it's not that its… It's just that… I…" Lilith struggled to find the words to explain the horror that machine had inflicted onto those poor people. Eventually she decided to just take out the small red orb she had taken from Berith.

Surprisingly, it wasn't Kaze who reacted first. Koga gasped as the ruby orb came into view. **"That sphere… You saw the machine then, didn't you?"**

Surprised, Lilith could only nod. Then, even more surprisingly, the demon rested a hand on Lilith's shoulder **. "I am so sorry you had to endure that. No one should have to see what that hellish contraption does."**

"What happened?" Kaze asked, his vice filled with worry.

Koga shook his head. **"Later. I'll tell you when we're alone. I won't force the girl to relive what she saw, not now at any rate."** His voice hardened as he motioned towards the orb. **"Be that as it may, we do have a serious problem on our hands. That** _ **thing**_ **is a type of food for demons, formed from human neurotransmitters, or brain parts if that makes more sense."**

"Food." Lilith's voice was as hollow as the pit that had grown in her stomach. "Then that means-"

 **"Yes."** Koga said grimly. **"Magnetite to summon demons. Red Spheres to feed them. Whomever we're dealing with has gathering everything they needed to build an army."**

* * *

 **Author's Note-**

 **Ya, so clearly the 3 to 4 weeks thing didn't happen. Sorry, that one's completely on me. I hope the longer chapter at least partially makes up for it though.**

 **As long as it took, this one was a blast to write. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did!**

 **In case anyone was wondering, here are the current stats for Kaze and Lilith:**

 **Kaze: Level 31**

 **COMP- Gauntlet**

 **Guide- Burroughs (Demonic Whisper)**

 **Resist- Wind**

 **Null- Dark, Mind**

 **Skills- None**

 **Demon(s)- Koga Saburo**

 **Lilith: Level 28**

 **COMP- Phone**

 **Guide- Male Tico (Skill Crack)**

 **Resist- None**

 **Null- Dark, Mind**

 **Skills- Astral Breath, Astral Blessing, Heat Wave**

 **Demon(s)- Vouivre**

 **See you guys next time!**

 **Disclaimer- This is a nonprofit, fan-based work. All characters and settings belong to their respective owners.**

 **Next Time- Corrin and Azura attend a tea party, Kaze and Lilith make a difficult decision, and Iago throws a hissy fit. So... basically business as usual.**


	24. Chapter 22: Tea and Dragons

**The Night Before**

Akane awoke to the sound of movement in her kitchen. Wondering if one of her two guests had gotten thirsty in the night, she quickly donned her robes and scurried toward the voice. As she got closer however, she started to hear the oddest things.

"Of all the forsaken… Mets could have been a lot more forthcoming with the information on the whole reincarnation thing. For instance, a little FYI that my memories could lead to a truly obnoxious case of multiple personality disorder would have been great to know up front." There was a satisfied grunt. "Is that worth a punch?" he mused, "Pixie would probably say it's worth a punch. To Amala with it. I'm gonna punch him."

"Corrin? Is that you?" Akane's voice wafted into the kitchen as she approached. Seemingly confused at his silence, she continued. "What are you doing here? Did you have trouble sleeping. I could make you some tea if you'd like."

The figure sighed. "Speaking of people that deserve a punch… And there's another thing that's been pissing me off, so many damned dragons." The figure turned to glare at Akane and she found herself staring into two golden eyes. "You know, at least Naga had the decency to introduce herself. Do you really think that mask is fooling anyone?" He waited for a moment for Akane to explain herself. When she remained silent, his eyes narrowed. "Now are we going to act like adults, or am I gonna have to rip that face off for you?"

Akane didn't back down "Such ferocity… and here I was thinking the apple had fallen quite far from the tree. A pity. I was starting to like you."

"Please don't confuse me with that idiot Corrin. You'll find there is a literal ocean of differences."

"You're not Corrin?"

Shin wagged his finger even as an air of malice emanated from him. "That's strike two, dragon. Play dumb again and you won't live to regret it.

"Oh, ho, ho. I'm sorry my boy, but I'm far too old to be intimidated, even by someone as terrifying as you." Akane paused as Shin raised an eyebrow. "That said, I'm admittedly shocked. I was under the impression you were supposed to have amnesia. In fact, if someone had told me earlier tonight that Corrin was only a façade, I would've said they were insane. You're quite the actor."

"Your point? If you think flattery will save you…"

"No, no. I wouldn't dream of that. I'm just trying to get a grip on-" Akane's eyes widened as Shin raised a finger and pointed it at her. It didn't take an immortal dragon to guess what would happen next if she didn't cooperate. "Fine, fine. I give up. I'll tell you my name… on one condition. You and I share a cup of tea. Understand?"

"That is not how this works." Shin deadpanned.

"Aren't you a little curious?"

"Only at how you've managed to live this long." Shin said, exasperation leaking through his threatening demeanor. "The fact some random demon hasn't ripped your arrogant throat out is almost more shocking than Ose showing up."

"And the fact you haven't killed me yet; tells me you're enjoying yourself."

"... You do know what I could do to you, right?"

"Your reputation is quite extensive." Akane admitted. "But I'm afraid I must insist. My name for a cup of a tea. Take it or leave it."

Shin nodded slowly. "Well…" he smiled, "I guess I can respect that. You know, I'll take you up on that tea after all."

"Do you have a preference?"

"Surprise me. But try to be quick about it. We only have until Corrin wakes up."

"Hmm, you two aren't on the best of terms, are you?" Akane poured them each a cup and took her place opposite Shin. Now that the mood had turned more amiable the almost suffocating atmosphere of murderous intent had vanished. However, neither of the two were under any illusions that it couldn't return in an instant if Shin was provoked. Akane had to choose her words carefully. "Whatever happened between the two of you? Did you massacre a small village when he wasn't looking?"

"No, nothing like that. Damn, just what _have_ you heard about me?"

"One of your subordinates has been spreading horror stories."

"Oh for Amala's sake Pixie…"

"Yes, quite." She paused. "Out of curiosity why did you atomize that city?"

The Demifiend rolled his eyes as if the question was ridiculous. "Same reason I wound up destroying the entire planet. Why the hell do you think?" Seeing that the woman was serious, he sighed before continuing. "There was a huge risk of a demonic bioweapon being released. We tried to do it the nice way, infiltration, subterfuge and the like. But in the end, something went wrong, someone betrayed us, the virus was released, and the entire planet was overwhelmed. So instead of letting that kind of cancer fester into something _actually_ terrifying, I made the executive decision to blow everything to hell. Huh, now that I think about it, that truly was a nasty weapon, even by my standards. What was it called… Atma or something or other? Eh, probably doesn't matter. Bottom line, any virus that can turn humans into demons needs to be eviscerated pronto."

Akane's eyes widened. "Are you serious? I didn't actually believe it…"

Shin scoffed. "Honestly, you'd be shocked what can be cooked up in a lab. Or maybe you didn't think I'd do that? Heh. You gotta give Pixie more credit. She'll gossip up a storm, true, but she'll never lie, especially when I'm involved."

"I'll remember that." Akane said solemnly. "I will definitely remember that."

"Make sure that you do."

"So how did you two fall out? You and Corrin, I mean. You sound like you're still quite fond of Pixie."

"Damned straight I am." Shin waved his hand dismissively. "But we're getting a little ahead of ourselves. I believe I was promised a name. And you know, now that we're at it, I'll have the reason you're here as well."

"That wasn't part of the deal."

"Humor me. You've gotten your questions in after all."

"Fine, fine. I suppose that's only fair." The old woman grumbled. Taking one last moment to glance at the Demifiend in apprehension, she raised a hand and snapped her fingers sharply. As she did, the air around her began to contort and twist. It was almost like the space around her had been cut and glued into a kaleidoscope, twisting in random, chaotic patterns as it turned. Eventually, the movement slowed, and space re-knit itself, though instead of a woman, there was a very old man in her place. "I, who forged the sacred blade... I, who committed the great sin... I, who wove the divine colors... I am the Rainbow Sage. One of the last four Silent dragons of this world."

Shin looked up and down the man, noting the newly formed staff as well as the beard. For a moment he continued to study the old man, then, seemingly satisfied he nodded. "Kay. Neat."

The old man's head bobbed to the side. "Did you not hear me?"

"No, no I did. I'm just a little disappointed. I was expecting something more on Naga's level and instead I got… well, an old man talking about colors. But, fine, fine… I'll bite. What is this 'great sin' you were talking about? Did you forget to clean your dentures one night or something?"

But now it was the Sage's turn to smile. Ignoring the Fiend's disdain he spoke, "That's not how this game works Managi. I've answered your question Fiend, now you'll answer mine. How did you and Corrin split. How did something that should never have happened, something that was barred by heaven, take place?"

"One, you seem to be confused. We were never playing that question for a question game. We were playing the 'Shin asked me a question so I better answer it or I'll get punched' game. Two, even if we were playing the question game, and we're not, you don't have anything else to tell me so why would I keep playing? As far as I'm concerned, you're a washed up old man that spends his free time cross-dressing. Tsk, to think I was worried you were a threat. You look like you have trouble going up the stairs. I actually feel bad now."

The old man shrugged. "You're right, there is nothing I can offer. Well, if you consider a way to re-knit the barrier between you and Corrin nothing, of course. If that's the case then by all means walk away. I could use some more time to sleep." Seeing the flash of surprise cross Shin's face, the Sage chuckled softly. "Come now boy. You may be older than you look, but we elderly take pride in our ability to torment the youth."

"You're lying."

"Oh? Then I guess you'll be leaving." The Sage shook his head. "I know the barrier is breaking boy. I saw all of the cracks in your dragonstone when you chased after Azura this morning. I wonder how many transformations you have left until it shatters. I also wonder if you've told Corrin what'll happen when it does…"

Shin opened his mouth and closed it slowly. The Sage had him and they both knew it. But rather than get upset… "We were attacked at Fort Dragonstone. I wanted to cut and run. He wanted to stay and protect his friends. If he'd been slightly smarter about it, I might've respected him for it. There, that should answer your question. Now about that carrot you just teased…"

"And it had nothing to do with a certain Hoshidan princess, I'm sure." The Sage said, changing the subject back to his own question and clearly ignoring Shin's.

Shin paused and cocked his head to the side, not sure whether he should be annoyed or impressed at his audacity. "Well, for one she isn't Hoshidan. Isn't Nohrian either. I'm reasonably sure she's Vallite actually," Shin smirked as Akane's eyes widened in shock, "pretty sure you're Vallite too based on your aura, but we'll come back to that later. Oh come on, it isn't that surprising!"

The Sage opened and closed his mouth several times but no sound came out. After taking a moment to regain his composure, he clutched at his chest and let about a slow laugh. "Ho, ho, ho. Please don't pull a trick like that out of your hat. My old heart can only take so much."

Shin's smile widened. "Surprised? I wouldn't be. You've heard the rumors about me after all. Being able to sense aura is child's play."

"I was more talking about breaking the curse so brazenly. I've gone without saying that word for a thousand years. To hear it said so nonchalantly… well, it caught me by surprise."

"Well get over it." Shin said with a roll of his eyes. "Now where was I… oh ya. Auras. Without a reference point they wouldn't have been much use; like staring at a starry sky without a chart." He chuckled. "Thankfully for me, Arete more than sufficed on that front. One look at her was all I needed to match the aura to its home dimension. Convenient huh? But there are other problems besides just where she comes from. The idiot has developed feelings for her."

"Ah, young love."

"Seriously. Romeo's got it pretty bad. It's taking all of my efforts not to stab the boy out of pure annoyance." Shin paused to sip his tea. "Though, I will admit, through all the anger, the potential betrayal, all the mistrust, there are times where I wish I could just let the two of them run off together. It is what we originally planned for after all. A way to destroy the Magatama…"

The Sage remained silent, watching closely as Shin pondered. It stayed like that for a while, the two sipping their tea as they reflected. Eventually, the Sage spoke. "You said Arete's aura helped you discover Azura and my own heritages, correct?" When Shin nodded, the Sage smiled. "I'm glad. She would be happy to have been able to help."

For the first time, confusion appeared in Shin's features, prompting the Sage to raise an eyebrow. "You didn't notice did you?"

"Obviously not. Care to elaborate?"

"Well… I'm afraid the woman you've fought has been dead for quite some time. The thing you've met has been a shell; a revenant if you would. Just a magically adept puppet dancing to another's tune. But before that… she had been a wonderful person. Forceful at times, even a spitfire if you'll believe that, but she was always kind. Especially to her daughter. Alas, that was to be her downfall. She eventually yielded to the curse in a failed attempt to save her husband and daughter. After that she was resurrected and enslaved by a monster."

Shin's expression had grown steadily more and more murderous as the Sage had continued. "A necromancer?"

"Partly. I'd love to elaborate, but unlike you, I have no way to counteract the curse."

Shin groaned. "Such a bloody pain. When I return that will be the first thing to go. Wait, the daughter… and her husband, they lived?"

"Yes."

"Hmmm…" Shin trailed off, looking at the Sage curiously. "I wonder…"

"Some mysteries can be more trouble than they are worth." the Sage warned. "Some thoughts will serve only to divide."

"And some dogma's can bind more tightly than any chain." Shin snorted. His expression turned serious again. "Speaking of binding, there is something I want to request of you. the Hoshidan princess..."

"Azura?"

"Yes. I want to leave her with you."

"Hmm?" If he was surprised by the request he didn't show it. "I'm honored to receive such a request, but I do have to ask. Why? What could I do, that you cannot? Are you just irritated that Corrin has a crush?"

"I'll admit my lesser half's feelings are a problem, but they are a lesser one. Azura reeks of demonic influence. She's already made one attempt on my life. Well… two, but one was unintentional. I think. Anyways, she's too much of a hassle. Best thing to do would be to kill her and be done with it, but leaving her with you might be better. If only could it would piss off Corrin less. Besides…" Shin lowered his gaze onto the Sage, "once you tell me how to fix the barrier and my dragonstone, I'll need to move as fast as possible. She would only slow me down."

"Hmm. I see. How unfortunate." The Sage muttered. And it was. He had hoped the boy, fiend or no, would have been able to look past his animosity and reconcile with the girl. Two Valite royals reconnecting across space and time. Why, it was almost like something out of a fairy tale. Not to mention it was the last true way for Valla's reclamation to come about. But Shin was right… the danger was too real. If the stone broke, Corrin and the Demifiend would merge, and then all of Nohr and Hoshido would burn. "Well, I suppose you're ri-"

The Sage frowned as a new thought entered his mind like a star streaking across the night, bring light with it. Why hadn't he thought of it before? It was so obvious. He just had to repair the relationship between the three. It was clear Shin did not trust the other two, and Azura had to be forming some suspicions about Corrin by this point. But if the Sage could force them to reform their bond… He might just be able to save Valla after all. He might be able to right the wrong he had committed those three thousand years ago. "Wait."

"Great, then I'll leave before morning- wait? Wait what?"

The Sage shook his head. He would have to lie, but so be it. There was more than one world at stake here. "You cannot leave the girl here."

Shin's face contorted in anger. Abruptly sensing his life might be at risk, the Sage raised his hands sharply. "It's not because I can't take her. I can if you're desperate. It's just that you will need her in order to rebuild the barrier in your consciousness." The Sage took the fact that he was still breathing as good sign and continued. "As you know, the barrier between you and Corrin breaks down bit by bit, every time you two use either your demonic powers or, though to a far lesser extent, your draconic powers the cracks grow. Eventually the stone will break and there will be nothing stopping your two personalities from rushing and recombining with each other. There has been a danger of this happening ever since you fought Ose and only the stone has prevented this from happening. But you know this already, don't you?"

"Yes." Shin admitted. "But I've been careful to keep it from Corrin. If he found out, he might do something stupid like hold back in a fight. Recombining is bad, but dead is worse."

"Very true for you, though I might argue it would be better for this world." Seeing Shin about to protest, the Sage raised a hand, "But that is an argument for another time. For now, let me get to the point. You can mitigate the damage to the stone by getting along better with Corrin. The more in tune the two of you are, the less strain it puts on the barrier. Conversely, given how at each other's throats you've been, I'm surprised it hasn't already shattered."

"Alright, I guess. But that's more a stop-gap solution than anything. I thought you said you had a solution."

"I do. Or rather you did. You remember the Yato I take it. The golden blade hidden in Hoshido?"

"Yes. Corrin's flying sword. We left it behind when Azura accidentally teleported us to Ylisse."

"That sword was made to reconcile the two warring nations of this world with each other as well as to seal away dragons. It has a unifying power matched only by the first dragons themselves. Truly it is a sword to bridge any divide, even one such as yours."

"You're saying the Yato can help me reform the barrier? How come I didn't know this? How come you _do_ know this?"

The Sage smiled sadly. "Because I made it. The Yato is my great sin. The seal of flames…"

Shin nodded, taking in what the Sage had said. "So, get the sword, fix the barrier, be nice to Corrin. Alright, and I assume I'll need to come back to you in order to get the sword working, am I right?"

"Yes. You catch on quickly."

"Alright. But I don't see why Azura needs to come along for this. I could easily get the sword and come back by myself."

True. The boy was right. It would probably be safer as well. Why had he insisted on Azura going again? The Sage blinked rapidly. That was right, he had to help fix his mistake. He had to save Valla. "The girl's power is necessary should the stone break prematurely. Her song might be able to buy you a little time should all else fail."

"Her _song_ is absurdly painful."

"I'd expect so! It is an ancient weapon handed down through her family to combat and contain dragons! If you're ever in the 'proper setting' you ought to ask her about it."

Shin stood and paced back and force, grumbling to himself. "I don't like this. In fact, I really don't like this. I have half a mind to tell you to shove you're Yato and just leave the girl here. Or maybe I just blast this hut and let Corrin wake up in the trouble. I can blame demons or whatever." He clenched his right hand into a fist and the Sage began to panic. But then the hand unclenched and Shin sighed. "But you're right. She will have her uses. And I'll need her if I'm going to make right with Corrin."

For some reason the Sage got the impression 'make right' meant 'pretend to trust and forgive her while secretly wait for the right moment to kill' but there was nothing he could do. He'd have to hope the Demifiend came around and realized that she was the victim not the culprit.

"So what now?" The Sage asked.

"Now I go to bed and try to figure out how I can tell Corrin all this without having him panic." Shin rolled his eyes. "This is going to be fun."

"Good luck, Shin Managi. I look forward to speaking with you again once you have returned with the Yato."

"Thanks Gramps. Try to look after yourself. Maybe not be so snarky to the next demon you come across."

"Ho, ho, ho. I'll try, Demifiend."

As the Fiend walked back to bed, the Sage couldn't help but feel a bit on edge. Shin had taken his recommendations a little to readily, hadn't he? Why it was almost like he hadn't really wanted to leave Azura after all.

He shook his head, re-donned his Akane disguise and headed to bed. No that was impossible. Shin hated Azura. And besides, it had been his idea to send them off together. Hand't it?

* * *

"And that is the extent of your report?"

Iago clenched his fist, confident that the King of Nohr could not see it. "Yes, your grace. That is everything I know."

A growl from the throne. "So you say. Yet I'm inclined towards skepticism."

"Your grace?"

"You are brought before me not only as my advisor, but also as my chief of intelligence. Now as war rages and we find ourselves not only losing said war, but on the brink of an invasion by Hoshido, you choose this moment, this critical moment, to neglect your job." Garon glowered down at him. "Explain yourself."

Iago glanced to the other members of the royal family looking on. "As you wish… But are you sure this audience is… _appropriate?_ "

Xander's hand flew to his blade as he stepped towards him and Camilla's was already on her ax when the king's voice roared from the throne. "ENOUGH. Xander, take your siblings from the throne room and await my instructions."

"Father!"

"Go." Garon commanded. "And Iago, you will apologize to them upon their return. I will not have you shame the royal family. Is that clear?"

Iago nodded, only slightly amused at the king's obvious attempt to placate his offspring. He wasn't surprised though; with Corrin's disappearance, Garon needed to consolidate any power he could. Though he severely doubted Garon actually cared about his progeny, he needed to keep up appearances, especially since they were losing this war. Well, he was losing anyway. Iago really couldn't be bothered to care about such a _human_ war.

After the heirs had left, Iago stood, dusting off his knees and looking up at the King defiantly. "Well. Where shall we begin?"

"Must you dwell on theatrics?" Garon asked.

Iago smiled sadly. "Come now, I'm only trying to help liven the mood. Speaking of which, why don't we talk about the string of attacks in the western region."

"Yes, lets." Garon said.

"So as you know, not including the recent string of losses to the Hoshidan army, we have suffered a series of domestic losses. Of course what makes these attacks unusual is the fact that they are embedded deep into Nohrian territory, well beyond anything the Hoshidans should be able to accomplish without making a break through our lines."

"And yet…"

"And yet multiple towns have seemingly disappeared over night. No bodies, no signs of a struggle at all really. Just empty beds and an eerie, unearthly silence." Iago finished. "Yes, it's quite odd. But thanks to intel gathered by archduke Vanderheim, I believe I've managed to identify the culprits."

"I thought Vanderheim was one of yours."

"We are all yours, my king." Iago said stiffly. "Some of us just contribute more than others. Vanderheim carries out your will by aiding my ability to gather intel."

"So you say. And yet you have contributed a startling small amount as of late. Perhaps I need to expand my circle of advisors. Now that I think about it, I've heard good things about the current jewel of the Sorcerer's Academy. What was her name... Kamui I believe?"

Iago had heard similar stories. In fact, everything he had heard about the young woman had been nothing short of exceptional. He had been entertaining the notion of recruiting her into the Assembly for a few months now, but whenever he had gone to meet her she had been mysteriously absent. After the third time it had happened he had stationed an agent to keep watch, a human one, not a demon. As of yet, they had not reported anything out of the ordinary. Maybe she had just been busy when he visited.

Unlikely. Iago smelled a rat.

He shook his head. "Perhaps I'll recruit her. If it please you your grace. Regardless, to get back on topic. We've managed to discover the identities of our two culprits."

"Two? You're saying this was all accomplished by two individuals? No less than thirteen towns have been razed to the ground. From what I've heard, entire platoons have slaughtered."

What he meant was that any Vallite forces he had sent had been exterminated upon making contact. Iago's agents had been sure to tell him that much. Of course they had been the ones doing the killing but there was no need to tell the king that. "I'm afraid so." Iago said sadly, keeping his knowledge to himself. "And it's worse than you know. The two culprits, well… I'm afraid they aren't as unknown as I originally believed. We've met them before."

"Oh?" Garon asked, eyebrow raised, obviously unimpressed by this revelation. "And just who, pray tell, are these-"

"Kaze, the traitorous ninja from Hoshido and Lilith, the daughter of the forgotten god and former stable girl to Lord Corrin."

Iago had expected a reaction to his lie and he wasn't disappointed. The emotions that flashed over the king's face were like a well-choreographed dance descending into a swirling mess. What began as indifference rapidly descended into shock, then came the storm of confusion, and yep, there was the rage. Honestly, it was almost too easy. Like playing the fiddle, all he had to do was pluck the right string.

"Iago…" Garon began, the anger dripping from his voice almost palpable. "How _long_ have you known this. And for that matter, just how in the name of the first dragons did you manage get this information?!"

"You said it yourself my King. It is my job to know." As the words left his mouth, Iago felt a shiver go up his spine. At that moment he realized that he and Garon were no longer alone in the throne room. Something else had joined them, something slimy, dark, and old. Not a demon, not a human either; no, this was something that could very well broker the two sides.

It would seem that Garon's master had come.

As the invisible presence crept ever closer, Iago instinctively through up an anti-curse barrier. Noticing the change, Iago felt the presence's attention turn towards him like a singular rotting eye. Was it surprise that it radiated? No, it was amusement, amusement that the ant in front of it dared think it could block its power.

As the foul being slithered around them, Garon's eyes grew cloudy and his jaw slack. And as Iago watched, his skin began to bubble and boil, almost as though the very flesh underneath it was becoming excited. With a sickening crack, the king's neck snapped and fell to his right shoulder. Then, unbelievably, his mouth opened and he began to speak in a guttural drone, like the king's voice was little more than a filter that some unseen monster was pushing its emotions through in some imperfect attempt to communicate. "Human… can you hear it? It grows… grows… growsssssss… The silence, oh how it grows…" The head twisted around before jerking rapidly towards him. "And yet you stand in its way? Why Iago? Why stand in its way? That's what you wanted, wasn't it? That's why you knelt to me. Prayed to me. Prostrated yourself to my glorioussssssss will." An unearthly laugh emanated from everywhere and nowhere, reverberating in Iago's very being. "But now… now you withhold yourself… you… hide… yourself…." Garon's lips curled back into a feral grin. "you _defend_ yourself? With that poultry shield? Silly little human…. arrogance is for the gods. For humans, there is only the dirt… the maggots… and the rot." In an instant Garon's hand flashed forward, stretching faster and farther than should have been possible. In the blink of an eye it had crossed the ten feet between the two of them and-

The creature howled as the hand erupted in the light of Iago's Radiance, cast on instinct. Pulling back its now smoking stump, the puppet master let out a long, low hiss.

Iago smiled. "Oh please, you overestimate yourself even as you underestimate me. What do you want dragon? Me dead before I have the chance to tell you anything? Or maybe you think you could just bring me back and have me sing like you did with that pathetic queen of yours?" He scoffed. "Like I would be so easy to kill. You have lived in seclusion for too long. You've grown complacent in your power, or rather in your weakness."

"The clock chimes… chimes… chimes… it never stops human." The hiss softened and became a low chuckle. It was the bubbly sound of insanity spilling out from the confines of an asylum. "But I see… oh yes, do I see… your protection… your patron… even dead and gone it is quite powerful. But will it be enough? Should I manifest… should I show you my magnificence…. I wonder… will you be able to hold onto that scrap of impudence in the face of my glory? Or will you bend and break like this toy?" Garon's head snapped around again to emphasize its point.

Iago shrugged. "There's no way to know, is there? You could try and appear but, wait, you can't, can you. Not completely anyways. That's why you need the, eh, 'King's' compliance, isn't it? You can send your agents, but not come personally."

"A barrier beyond my knowing exists…. A glowing light… so bright, yes so very bright. Ethereal yet unbreakable… It seals me for now…" The chuckling grew louder. "For now… for now… for now…"

Metatron's barrier, it had to be. What an interesting side effect. He'd have to discuss this with his agents. "How unfortunate. You have my sympathies. Truly it is a pity that no dragon can enter our world... Oh, but wait that isn't quite true is it? After all, not one but both of your children have graced us with their presence." Iago sneered. "Lord Anankos."

The chuckling stopped. For a moment, the two beings stared each other down. One wondering why the curse had yet to activate, the other waiting for the dragon to get to his point.

"Your power… disgusting." Anankos finally said. "Like Ose… yet different… Congealed in a core of emotion. Filthy, dirty, decrepit…" Iago opened his mouth by the dragon continued. "My daughter… born of my flesh, yet more of a leper's leavings than any true scion. And my son…" The chuckling returned. "Oh he shall be broken. Oh yes! YES, YES! How fun it will be!" Garon's head jerked back into place. "But… not yet… nonononono. First the first must end. Returned to her father's embrace. Ever mine. Yes."

"You want me to kill your daughter?"

"Yes filthy one. Your report… the information came from… from a power alien to mine… your sight is long indeed. I cannot see them any longer. They are beyond my sight, beyond my gleaming eye. Not the boy. Corrin. Oh, I can still see the prodigal one. How he flounders between worlds. Visiting the realm of the abhorrent divine one. But the daughter? The traitor? She is invisible. Power like yours, perhaps?"

"I couldn't know." Iago answered, getting slightly worried. Had the two retainers already mastered their COMPs to such a degree. This merited further investigation. Regardless, the dragon was beginning to break down. Anymore of this and he'd become impossible to understand. "So let me get this straight, you want me to kill Lilith, Kaze and Corrin?"

"NO. I will take the boy... Him and his have invaded my domain. Killed my toys. Souls drained of energy. Husks becoming husks. No, the aunt will take the nephew. And the daughter while she is at it. You will erase the ninja who escaped me. And the retch born of my majesty."

"And why would I help you?" Iago asked. "What do you have to offer in trade?"

Garon's flesh began to reconstitute and Iago could feel the Silent dragon's presence leaving. "A war on two fronts is… terrible… messy… brutal… painful… but avoidable. Play with your power… but never forget… your patron has not been resurrected yet."

Iago watched as Garon 'woke up'. Looking at his advisor with a new found trepidation, he asked, "You understand your orders I assume."

"I believe so. I will send my solders to kill the retainers while 'it' deals with Corrin and your adopted daughter."

Garon nodded. "Good. Then go. And call my children back in while you do. There is work to do."

"Of course, your grace." Iago replied, bowing as he left.

Upon exiting the room, the royal heirs saw what they were supposed to; the face of a humbled advisor bidding them to speak to their father. What they didn't see was the triumph Iago had buried deep. True, he hadn't expected to speak with Anankos personally, but that hadn't ended up mattering.

Iago would acquiesce to the dragon's request. He would kill Kaze and Lilith. He'd intended to anyways. Just like how he'd sent demons into Valla to prey upon Anankos's solders, just like how he had destroyed entire towns to form his army. And just like how he had manipulated the insane dragon by telling him just what he had to in order to sick the Vallite forces on Corrin.

Anankos had been right about one thing; fighting a war on two fronts would be incredibly difficult. Maybe Corrin was in league with the Demifiend, maybe he wasn't. Whatever the truth, his retainers certainly were. If Anankos managed to kill Corrin and make a puppet of his corpse... To say his retainers would be distracted would be an understatement. And after all, the Assembly, now almost fully mobilized, would only need the slight edge to kill Kaze and Lilith.

Now all that was left was to order Vanderheim to unleash his hoards.

* * *

Corrin awoke the next morning feeling very odd. For one he felt fuller than he had when he'd gone to bed. For another, he could have sworn he got enough sleep last night, yet his body ached and groaned with tiredness.

And last but surely not least, he had the faintest instinct that something was very, very wrong.

* * *

 **Author's Note-**

 **Hey guys! It has been a LONG time since this was updated. Sorry about that, but rest assured, the story is not dead! Or rather, if it was it is no longer.**

 **Also, sorry for leaving you with that cliffhanger for so long, but rest assured that we will be seeing a LOT more of Kaze and Lilith going forward. In fact the next few chapters are going to be almost entirely focused on them. I can't say exactly when the next chapter is coming, but rest assured it will be relatively soon as most of it is already written. See you then!**

 **Next Time- On the run from the Assembly.**


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